Zen Buddhist's walk from Lancaster to London to spread peace message

Rev Jitei White sets off on his two-week Walk for Peace at 8am on October 30 from the tara Centre for Peace and Reconciliation at the Storey Building in Lancaster.

He aims to be in London to attend the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph on November 12.

He will also stop off at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire to pay his respects.

He will be walking on his own in his Zen Buddhist robes with the idea of expounding the message of personal, community and world peace to everyone that he meets.

“My aim is to get as many people involved in this as possible, to let the message of peace fall into the country’s heart,” Mr White said. “In the last few months I have done an all-night meditation in Blackpool to help a young persons’ charity and then a couple of weeks ago I did a 24-hour meditation at my centre in The Storey.

“I have been getting progressively more adventurous.”

Mr White said that on UN World Peace Day – September 21 – he could feel something developing within himself which led him to the idea of a walk down the country.

“It sounds a bit corny but I had a dream,” he said. “In the dream I was walking from the bottom to the top of the country, and talking about personal peace and peace in the community.

“The idea is sto speak to as many people as I can.

“I will be going through towns and cities and along main routes.

“I have got some friends within the Quaker movement which is closely linked with Zen. They have put the word out along the route so hopefully I should get some accommodation along the way.

“I will also be visiting Buddhist temples along the way.

“I recognise myself as a peace campaigner and when I get back I will be starting up a charity.

“Any donations I get will allow me to take my message wherever I can.”

Mr White said he is expecting the trip to be tough, since he is not used to walking long distances.

“It’s going to be physically hard,” he said.

“I will be walking about 20 miles a day – the equivalent of walking from Lancaster to Preston.

“I did a walk from Lancaster to Glasson Dock and back, which is only about 14 miles but I could feel it a bit.

“It is going to be quite a challenge, especially dealing with the weather as well.”

You can follow Mr White’s walk on his website at www.jiteiwhite.com.