New York, NY —

Their robes didn't exactly match Christo's "Gates," but a group of Buddhist monks and their supporters came to Central Park seeking spiritual serenity.

The Gates installation is as much spectacle as art. So it was fitting that a "meditative procession" also became an event. Photographers and onlookers crowded the monks and snapped pictures, as followers lined up to walk in silence.

Wun-Yung Suh, a Korean monk who now lives in Teaneck, says for Buddhists, gates represent different passages of life - and death.

It's special today. We have heavy snow. It makes all of the things together white, and clean - a symbol of highest peace.

The procession was organized by The Interfaith Center of New York.

For WNYC, I'm Fred Mogul.