Meet Aloka the Dog, US monks' Peace Walk

This story is easy to do because the men at Wisdom Quarterly are dog people, who love dogs and fish and only recently warmed up to the wonder of cats. Who would have guessed that a dog can be a monk's best friend?

I need good human companions on this path.

Aloka is a very special male Buddhist rescue dog of Indian origin, who has become widely known as "Aloka the Peace Dog" in 2025–2026. Why? It is due to [the karma of] accompanying a group of Theravada Buddhist monks (bhikkhus) from Chùa Hương Đạo Temple on a Walk for Peace across the United States [1].

• Animals in Buddhism
• Karma (the deeds we do) in Buddhism
• Buddhist concept of friendship

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It is believed to be a Pariah dog originally living as a stray when it encountered a group of Vietnamese American Buddhist monks in 2022 [2], participating in a peace pilgrimage across India.

Excellent medical care for best friend Aloka

According to the monks, Aloka began following them during their walk and despite facing hardships – including being hit by a car and falling seriously ill during the journey – it (he) repeatedly rejoined the peace procession.

• PHOTOS: Aloka the Peace Dog recovering from surgery after being injured during peace walk with Buddhist monks

The monks then adopted the dog, named it Aloka (guiding light), and brought it back to the United States [3, 4].

Can we make peace? (insightla.org)

Aloka's prominence grew when it joined a larger American initiative called the "Walk for Peace." This event began on October 26, 2025, when a group of approximately 19 Theravada Buddhist monks from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, set out on a roughly 2,300‑mile walk from Texas to Washington, D.C.

You love dogs? - I love ALL living beings.

Aloka has walked alongside the Buddhist monks, sometimes on foot and other times riding in a support vehicle when needed [3].

It has a distinctive heart‑shaped marking on its forehead and has amassed a large following on social media platforms [5]. More

Map of the monks' spiritual journey (yatra) from Fort Worth, TX, to Washington, DC

• Aloka the Peace Dog joins Buddhist monks' Walk of Peace, becomes viral star
• Aloka the Peace Dog recovering from surgery after being injured during a peace walk with Buddhist monks

• (The Week) Meet Aloka, the dog who is accompanying 19 American Theravada Buddhist monks from Southeast Asia on a 37,000 km peace walk to spread peace and kindness throughout the USA
• As a literal mark of skillful karma performed in the past, one is reborn (due to some heavier unskillful karma) in the Animal Realm below the human plane of existence but with beauty and marks on the fur, skin, or feathers. Behold the perfectly formed white heart on Aloka's third eye/forehead.
• Aloka literally means "light" and is sometimes used as a synonym for "white"
• Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center | Fort Worth TX | Facebook
• Huong Dao Temple (92 photos) 4713 E Rosedale St, Fort Worth
• Instagram
• The Week (India); Seth Auberon, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit