Walk for Peace, Walk in Hope

Features Issue 193 Nov, 2017

Bhikshu Krishna Man Manandhar is a simple monk attempting to realize great visions. Through his work, he has been trying to bring the world’s religions together in an effort to bring peace to this world.

Walking meditation, also known as Parikrama in Sanskrit, Kora in Tibetan, and circumambulation in English, is a simple act performed around the circular path of a sanctuary or holy place of worship in noble silence, or while reciting prayers. Walking meditation is conducive to spiritual growth, and is consistent with the culture of all faiths based on the humanistic ideals of tolerance and universal fraternity. It is a sacred method that cultivates peace and well-being in all of us.

Monk Krishna Man has conceptualized walking meditation around a common holy sanctuary to bring an end to the entrenched division of people of different faiths, to create peace and harmony in times of natural disasters and religious and political conflicts in our turbulent and complicated world.

The structure of the common holy sanctuary, in the shape of a globe emblazoned with the symbols of the world’s major religions, will be surrounded by a circular path for walking meditation. Monk Krishna Man believes that, when people of different backgrounds and faiths move towards and engage in this type of walking meditation, a feeling of loving kindness and compassion will flourish in their hearts.

He says that it was his experience in the Interfaith Peace Walks that inspired him to create the idea of the common holy sanctuary. These walks took place in Nepal and also in major cities of the United States between 2001 and 2004. Similar to this, Monk Krishna Man has also led a series of Interfaith Peace Walks advocating for religious harmony in Bucks Country, Pennsylvania.

It is this gentle monk’s fervent hope that his dream of a common holy sanctuary be established somewhere in the near future, and he is looking into possibilities of getting a piece of land with open green space here in Nepal for the construction of his dream that he believes will benefit the world. Is it a realistic dream, you may wonder? Anyway, one thing is certain, today’s conflicted and often confusing world needs a lot more people who are willing to devote themselves to finding solutions based on peace, faith, and common ground.

 

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