Linda Leaming
Linda Leaming went to Bhutan for the first time in 1994. "A nice diversion," is how the travel agent described it. It was. And it still is. She found a home and a voice among the remote and mysterious Himalayan mountains. She also found romance with an intriguing Bhutanese painter. Her work has appeared in Ladies’ Home Journal, Mandala, Guardian UK, A Woman’s Asia (Travelers’ Tales, 2005), and many other publications. Eric Weiner included her in his 2008 bestseller, The Geography of Bliss. Originally from Nashville, she has an M.F.A. in fiction from the University of Arizona, and she regularly speaks about Bhutan at colleges, churches, seminars, and book groups. She is married to the renowned Bhutanese thanka painter, Phurba Namgay. Find her at www.lindaleaming.com and follow her at www.twitter.com/lindaleaming.
“A man met the Buddha after the Buddha became enlightened. The man was awed by his remarkable radiance. "What are you?" the man asked. "Are you some kind of celestial being? A god, perhaps?" "No," said the Buddha. "Well, then, are you a magician or wizard?" "No," the Buddha answered again. "Are you a man?" "No." "Well, then, what are you?" "I am awake," the Buddha replied”
“Just as Alice, when she walked through the looking glass, found herself in a new and whimsical world, so we, when we crossed over the Pa Chu, found ourselves as though caught up on some magic time machine fitted fantastically with a reverse...”
“If I had to name the biggest difference between Bhutan and the rest of the world, I could do it in one word, civility.”
“There are all kinds of ignorance in the world. Education, learning to read and write, doesn't necessarily give us knowledge. We have to learn to use our minds to see what is really happening.”
“The average Bhutanese knows much more about the world than the average American...(for Americans)It is more comfortable to watch fake news about celebrities than to know what's happening in China or southern Sudan. But events happening in China or Sudan affect us so much more because they are real.”
“Bhutan does seem a bit unreal at times. Hardly anybody in the U.S. knows where it is. I have friends who still think the entire country is a figment of my imagination. When I was getting ready to move there, and I told people I was going to work in Bhutan, they'd inevitably ask, "Where's Butane?"It is near Africa," I'd answer, to throw them off the trail. "It's where all the disposable lighters come from."They'd nod in understanding.”