Interfaith walk for peace through downtown Bellingham inspired by Buddhist monks
The afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 21 in Bellingham was rainy and cold as a group of about 100 people gathered in Waypoint Park near the granary building and the acid ball.
They were all there for the same reason — to quietly promote peace.
The Red Cedar Zen Community has been organizing Interfaith Peace Walks since Feb. 15 to silently bring prayers and calls for peace and justice throughout Bellingham. They are currently planning a longer, multi-stage walk for peace that will begin at Peace Arch Park in Blaine and end in downtown Bellingham.
The walks are inspired by Buddhist monks who recently walked from Texas to Washington D.C. in the name of peace.
“We’re very inspired by these monks doing a much longer walk for peace, and we can’t logistically do that ourselves,” said Rev. Seishin, an event organizer. “This is a little way to take our spiritual practice and integrate with other communities in the area.”
No religious or spiritual affiliations are required, and attendees heard of the event through various means. But all came with similar motives.
The walk began at 1:30p.m, but before departing, organizers had a few guidelines. No one gets left behind; there are three organizers throughout the crowd to ensure everyone will stay together.
They were holding Inkin Bells, a traditional hand-held bell used in times of meditation. They use the bells to ensure everyone is together and to mark the passage of time.
Lastly, an organizer posed a question to the crowd and asked them to ponder it.
“Why am I here? Why does this matter?”
Then the crowd was invited to meet someone new and mingle with the crowd and discuss their reasons for coming to the walk.
“I’m here because I want to be in solidarity with all of the folks who are struggling and suffering so much because of the inhumanity that has surfaced of the past,” said Cynthia, an event attendee. “The government leadership ... and I just want to be in a place of compassion for folks who are really hurting,”
Then the crowd began the 2.5-mile walk silently throughout downtown Bellingham, beginning at Waypoint Park, looping through downtown and ending at Marine Park, where the group stood at the cement amphitheater and recited “Loving Kindness Sutra,” a Buddhist chant that calls for an end to violence and hatred in place of peace, love and kindness.
After concluding, the group silently walked back to Waypoint Park, where they were encouraged to share how they felt during the walk and what it meant to them.
“It feels really wonderful to connect with community, and it’s really amazing, the cross-section of people who are showing up to these walks that we know, Bellingham is a place where there’s only one degree of separation between a lot of friends.” said Bob, an event organizer. “I see friends from different connections in life coming into this event, which is surprising but also really heartening and connecting. We really feel like Bellingham is showing up in a big way for this kind of effort, as well as the protests.”