Dhammayietra

The Dhammayietra is an annual peace walk in Cambodia that originated during the historic repatratiation of refugees along the Thai border camps during the United Nations monitored transition to democracy in 1992. The peace walk takes place in early May and usually involves an assemblage of Buddhist monks and lay persons who travel various routes in Cambodia. The assemblage is often greeted by villagers along the route who expect a blessing (tuk mon or blessing with lustral water). The founder of the Dhammayietra was Maha Ghosananda, a Buddhist monk who ranked among the higher echelons of the Cambodian sangha; he led the first Dhammayietra as he returned from exile following the war.

In 1995, the Dhammayietra consisted of almost 500 Cambodian Buddhist monks, nuns and precept-taking lay people. They were joined by The Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace and Life. Together the two groups crossed Cambodia from the Thai border all the way to Vietnam, spending several days walking through Khmer Rouge controlled territory along the way.

Dhammayietra is often translated as "pilgrimage of truth."

References

• Poethig, Kathryn (2002). "Movable Peace: Engaging the Transnational in Cambodia's Dhammayietra". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 41 (1): 19–28. doi:10.1111/1468-5906.00097. 

See also

Preah Maha Ghosananda