和平永远是人类存在意义的希望
Pannakara比丘和平之行
禅世界 编辑部
2026-03-10
从2025年10月26日开始，Pannakara比丘带领一群佛教僧侣从德州休斯顿出发，徒步15 周、2300 英里，于 2026 年 2 月11日抵达华盛顿林肯纪念堂。这是一场名为“和平之行”的旅程，旨在促进世界和平并消除民众分裂。然而不久之后，美国、以色列开始轰炸伊朗，目前正在演变为可能的全面战争。作为对比，Pannakara比丘的这场行脚显得格外刺眼，却也无比珍贵，因为战争的残酷与耻辱，已将人类的良知推向深渊。这些比丘脚下的每一步，都在提醒我们：即使政治与炮火遮天蔽日，心中“和平觉知”的盒子仍可被正念轻轻打开。
这场战争的残酷，已超出任何理性想象。霍尔木兹海峡被封锁，布伦特原油价格飙升至每桶116美元以上，全球供应链断裂，通胀如野火般复燃，就业增长骤然停滞。炮火之下，无数平民在废墟中失去家园、亲人与未来；医院被炸毁，儿童在饥饿与恐惧中哭泣；士兵的尸体与平民的血肉混杂在沙漠与海湾的尘土里。战争机器一旦启动，便如失控的野兽，吞噬的不只是生命，更是人性。美伊以三方皆宣称“自卫”或“正义”，却无一例外地将平民当作代价。导弹划破夜空，油轮在火海中沉没，经济制裁让普通家庭断粮断药——这哪里是“现代文明”的战争？分明是中世纪野蛮的复活，只是披上了卫星制导与无人机的高科技外衣。
更可耻的是，这场战争暴露了人类最丑陋的一面：政治谎言、经济腐败与集体的懦弱。政客们在镜头前高喊“捍卫自由”或“反恐正义”，背后却是军火商的订单暴增与石油利益的重新瓜分。虚假情报、操纵舆论、转移国内矛盾……这些老把戏在21世纪依然奏效。而广大民众呢？许多人选择沉默、转发段子、或干脆把头埋进手机里，任由杀戮在远方继续。战争的耻辱，不在于战场的血腥，而在于我们明明知道这是一场可以避免的灾难，却实际上集体选择了麻木与推责。人类已进入所谓发达的现代社会，却仍用最原始、最野蛮的方式解决争端，这难道不是对文明最大的嘲讽？
正是在这样的黑暗时刻，Pannakara比丘的和平之行显得如此必要，也如此崇高。他明确说：“行脚并非为了给人们带来和平，而是唤起人们对和平的觉知。因为每个人的心中都有个和平觉知的盒子。只需练习正念，就能打开那个盒子。”。这句话直指人心本质 – 和平从来不是外在强加的礼物，而是内在早已存在的种子。战争的炮声震耳欲聋，却无法抹去每个人心底那份对安宁的渴望。这位比丘用最古老、最朴素的方式 – 一步一步走在公路上——去打开那盒子的盖子。
和平之行的意义，远超一次抗议活动。它至少体现在五个层面，每一层都如佛法般深刻而务实：
第一，它呼唤和平的力量，尽可能减少杀戮。当政客们忙于升级冲突时，和平行者用身体语言告诉世界：还有另一种选择。他们的存在本身就是对暴力的制约——每一次媒体报道、每一次路人驻足，都可能让决策者多一分顾虑，让战场上少一次误射。
第二，它唤醒更多人参与正念觉知，为未来的和平奠基。正念不是逃避现实的玄学，而是面对残酷时仍能保持清明的能力。当人们看到比丘行脚、诵经、与路人分享慈悲时，许多原本麻木的心灵会被触动。他们开始练习呼吸、观察愤怒、放下仇恨——这正是未来和平最坚实的土壤。
第三，它让更多人汲取教训，抛弃罪犯的政治谎言、经济腐败与自身的懦弱。行脚沿途的对话、讲座与静坐，会让参与者直面战争的根源：那些用谎言包装的“国家利益”、那些用腐败换取权力的政客、以及我们自己不敢发声的怯懦。唯有认清这些，人类才能真正拒绝被操纵。
第四，它着眼于未来人类的和平，打下基础。今天看似徒劳的脚步，会在十年、二十年后结出果实。就像甘地行军、马丁·路德·金的步行，最终改变了历史。Bhikkhu Pannakara等出家人的的行脚，正是为下一代播下“和平可行”的种子。
第五，也是最重要的一点：佛法修学与和平行动解决不了人类的政治与战争难题，但可以让一部分人保持正道，保留火种，为人类守护尊严与希望。政治与作为政治延续的战争难题属于政治家、外交官与军事专家和全人类，但心灵的堕落与尊严的丧失，却需要佛法的智慧来挽救。即使无法阻止导弹升空，至少可以让一些人拒绝仇恨、拒绝麻木、拒绝成为战争机器的齿轮。只要火种不灭，人类就仍有希望。
在战争的硝烟中，这场从德州到华盛顿的和平之行，看似微小，却如黑暗中的一点烛光。它不奢望立即结束冲突，却以最纯粹的方式提醒我们：战争的残酷与耻辱，并非人类的宿命。真正的力量，藏在每个人心中那个被尘埃覆盖的“和平觉知盒子”里。
Bhikkhu Pannakara等人用脚步丈量的不只是公路，更是人心的距离。愿更多人被他的正念唤醒，愿战争的耻辱早日成为历史，愿我们终于学会：和平，从打开自己心中的盒子开始。
每一步，都是慈悲；每一次正念，都是对战争有力的反击。
Peace is Forever the Hope of the Meaning of Human Existence
ChanWorld Editorial
2026-03-10
Starting from October 26, 2025, Bhikkhu Pannakara led a group of Buddhist monks on a 15-week, 2,300-mile journey on foot from Houston, Texas, arriving at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on February 11, 2026. This “Walk for Peace” aimed to promote world peace and heal societal divisions. Yet shortly afterward, the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, a conflict now escalating toward possible all-out war. In stark contrast, Bhikkhu Pannakara’s pilgrimage stands out painfully yet extraordinarily precious—because the brutality and shame of war have already pushed humanity’s conscience into the abyss. Every step these monks take reminds us that even when politics and artillery blot out the sky, the “box of peace awareness” in our hearts can still be gently opened by mindfulness.
The cruelty of this war has surpassed any rational imagination. The Strait of Hormuz is blockaded, Brent crude has surged above $116 per barrel, global supply chains are fracturing, inflation is reigniting like wildfire, and job growth has abruptly stalled. Beneath the barrage, countless civilians have lost homes, families, and futures amid the ruins; hospitals have been destroyed; children cry in hunger and terror; soldiers’ corpses mingle with civilians’ flesh in the dust of deserts and gulfs. Once the war machine is set in motion, it becomes a runaway beast that devours not only lives but humanity itself. The United States, Israel, and Iran all claim “self-defense” or “justice,” yet without exception they treat civilians as the price to pay. Missiles streak across the night sky, oil tankers sink in seas of flame, and economic sanctions leave ordinary families without food or medicine. Is this the war of “modern civilization”? No—it is the resurrection of medieval barbarism, merely dressed in the high-tech garb of satellite guidance and drones.
Even more shameful is how this war has exposed humanity’s ugliest side: political lies, economic corruption, and collective cowardice. Politicians shout “defending freedom” or “counter-terrorism justice” before the cameras, while behind the scenes arms dealers’ orders skyrocket and oil interests are carved up anew. Fake intelligence, manipulated public opinion, and the deflection of domestic conflicts—these old tricks still work perfectly in the 21st century. And the general public? Many choose silence, share memes, or simply bury their heads in their phones, letting the slaughter continue far away. The true shame of war lies not in the blood on the battlefield, but in the fact that we knew this was an avoidable catastrophe yet collectively chose numbness and blame-shifting. Humanity has entered the so-called advanced modern era, yet we still resolve disputes in the most primitive and barbaric ways. Is this not the greatest mockery of civilization?
It is precisely in such dark moments that Bhikkhu Pannakara’s Walk for Peace becomes so necessary—and so noble. He stated clearly: “The pilgrimage is not about bringing peace to people, but about awakening their awareness of peace. Because every person has a box of peace awareness in their heart. All it takes is the practice of mindfulness to open that box.” These words go straight to the essence of the human heart—peace has never been an externally imposed gift, but a seed that has always existed within. The roar of war may be deafening, yet it cannot erase the universal longing for tranquility deep in everyone’s heart. This monk is using the oldest and simplest method—walking step by step along the highway—to lift the lid of that box.
The significance of the Walk for Peace far exceeds a single protest. It manifests on at least five profound and practical levels, each as deep and pragmatic as the Dharma itself:
First, it invokes the power of peace and seeks to minimize killing. While politicians busy themselves escalating conflict, the peace walkers use the language of their bodies to tell the world: there is another choice. Their very presence is a restraint on violence—every media report, every passerby who stops, may give decision-makers one more moment of hesitation and prevent one more mistaken shot on the battlefield.
Second, it awakens more people to mindfulness practice, laying the foundation for future peace. Mindfulness is not some escapist metaphysics; it is the ability to remain clear-minded in the face of horror. When people see the monks walking, chanting, and sharing compassion with strangers, many numb hearts are touched. They begin to practice breathing, observe their anger, and let go of hatred—this is the most solid soil for tomorrow’s peace.
Third, it helps more people learn the lesson and reject the political lies of criminals, economic corruption, and their own cowardice. Conversations, lectures, and silent sittings along the route force participants to confront the roots of war: the so-called “national interests” wrapped in lies, the politicians who trade corruption for power, and our own fear of speaking out. Only by seeing these clearly can humanity truly refuse to be manipulated.
Fourth, it looks to the future of human peace and lays the groundwork. Today’s seemingly futile steps will bear fruit in ten or twenty years. Just as Gandhi’s Salt March and Martin Luther King Jr.’s walks ultimately changed history, the pilgrimage of Bhikkhu Pannakara and other monastics is sowing the seeds of “peace is possible” for the next generation.
Fifth, and most importantly: while Buddhist practice and peace actions cannot solve humanity’s political and war problems, they can help some people stay on the right path, preserve the spark, and safeguard human dignity and hope. Political and war dilemmas—as the continuation of politics—belong to politicians, diplomats, military experts, and all of humanity. But the corruption of the mind and the loss of dignity require the wisdom of the Dharma to redeem. Even if we cannot stop the missiles from launching, we can at least help some people refuse hatred, refuse numbness, and refuse to become cogs in the war machine. As long as the spark remains, humanity still has hope.
Amid the smoke of war, this peace march from Texas to Washington may seem small, yet it is like a single candle in the darkness. It does not presume to end the conflict immediately, but in the purest way reminds us: the brutality and shame of war are not humanity’s destiny. True power lies in the “box of peace awareness” buried under dust in every heart.
What Bhikkhu Pannakara and his companions have measured with their footsteps is not merely miles of highway, but the distance in human hearts. May more people be awakened by his mindfulness. May the shame of war soon become history. And may we finally learn: peace begins by opening the box in our own hearts.
Every step is compassion; every moment of mindfulness is a powerful counterstrike against war.
油管YouTube、X推特、 文学城Wenxuecity、公众号Substack、微博Weibo、Facebook脸书
【禅世界现代汉语版】《相应部》、《中部》、《长部》、《增支部》、《小部》 和 《清净道论》
尊者化普乐·罗睺罗 Walpola Rahula 《佛陀的教导》
根据知识共享署名-非商业性使用-禁止演绎 4.0 国际许可协议 特许使用。