Catholic monk The Rev. William Spudlarek and Buddhist monk Jotipalo Bhikkhu take time from their walk for an interview with an Echo Publishing reporter.

"If you think IÕm dressed funny, take a look at this!" responded a man robed in black and wearing a woven farmerÕs hat, referring to his friend and traveling companion, a clean shaven man wrapped from shoulder to toe in orange robes.

The two men, The Rev. William Spudlarek, a Catholic monk and priest from St. JohnÕs Abbey in Collegeville who was dressed in black, and Jotipalo Bhikkhu, a Buddhist monk from the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley, Calif., stopped in the store Friday, July 13, on Day 3 of their two week walk on the Paul Bunyan Trail.

In addition to demonstrating interreligious harmony, The Rev. William Spudlarek, right, says he is also enjoying the opportunity to get out and enjoy nature on the Paul Bunyan Trail.

Johnson asked, "How do you get food?" Following Buddhist tradition, the men will eat only the food that is provided to them by others. The practice, called alms round, is a way to keep monks in touch with the community. They do not beg or ask for food, but stand or walk with heads slightly bowed until someone offers them food. They then chant a meal blessing, celebrating the generosity of those who offered the food.

Johnson and her granddaughter, Lacie Johnson, offered them freshly made seven-layer bars. Three-year-old Lacie folded her hands and bowed her head as Bhikku chanted the blessing. She later told her dad, about the prayer and blessing. The walk itself serves several purposes, the primary being, in their words, Òa simple, unpretentious experience of interreligious harmony.Ó Father Spudlarek is a former chair of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, an organization formed to promote interreligious dialogue. He said too many Americans hear about conflict in the world between people of different religions. The monks hope to instead create awareness that there can be harmony between differing beliefs and cultures.

Another is an opportunity to practice living with uncertainty. Spudlarek described it as a way, "to push myself - have confidence that things will work out." For instance: Where will we sleep? Will we have food to eat?

The men started their walk in Baxter Wednesday, July 11, and are heading toward Bemidji. They will stop their trek July 25, whether they've made it to Bemidji or not.

Wednesday, July 12 they logged 4 or 5 miles before pitching their tents, and they walked about 10 miles a day Thursday and Friday, spending the night with people who had generously offered them a place to stay. They should be staying near Pine River and Backus Saturday and Sunday nights, respectively.

They have conversed with a few people along the way, but admit that for the most part, and understandably in these times, people appear wary of them. Anyone who sees these two men in robes walking north on the Trail, can be assured, however, that they are peaceful and friendly travelers willing to share their story with anyone who asks.

Read more about the monks in the expanded story that will run in the July 19th issues of the Lake Country Echo and the Pine River Journal.