COLOMBO: A saffron-robed Buddhist monk ended a gruelling barefoot walk across Sri Lanka on Tuesday with an impassioned appeal for world peace and kindness towards animals.

Accompanied by a rescued stray dog, Texas-based Vietnamese monk Pannakara walked 210 kilometres (131 miles) to reach the capital Colombo, where he was received by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans lined the route from the north-central town of Dambulla during the week-long walk to offer Pannakara and his 12 fellow monks flowers and gifts. They were accompanied by their mascot, a stray named Aloka, meaning “light” in Sanskrit.

“If we cannot govern our own inner world with wisdom, how can we expect the outer world to remain peaceful?” Pannakara said at a ceremony at Colombo’s Independence Square.

The foreign monks were also presented with a sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhi, which according to tradition has grown from a cutting of the original tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment in India. The Vietnamese monks had attracted international attention during a longer 108-day walk of 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) from Texas to Washington, travelling through freezing temperatures and along ice-covered roads and ending on February 10.

In sharp contrast, they walked on Sri Lanka’s roads at the hottest time of the year, when temperatures reached 40C.

Devotees sprayed water on asphalt roads and placed banana leaves and flowers for them to step on, helping them avoid the sweltering heat of the tarmac.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2026