From the Dalai Lama to African ICT Achievers

This past weekend, I had the honour of attending a lecture by His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama from Tibet. The spiritual leader of Buddhism is a symbol of peace. This is his 3rd visit to South Africa. The lecture took place at Vista University in Soweto. The main message I took from this lecture was to meditate on compassion. I often felt that I had not been very sincere in my actions or things I do to help other people. There has been some kind of unwritten expectation that the favour be returned. Well, no more of that! I just want to be genuinely compassionate towards my fellow human beings and animals on Earth. I found the Dalai Lama to have a very good understanding of how, scientifically, the positive effects of meditation have been proven by medical science. He also has a sense of humour and speaks with so much humility when questioned at the end of his lecture. Afterwards me my friends and I went to visit the home of Nelson Mandela in Orlando West, Soweto and the Hector Pieterson museum.

In the evening, I attended the 6th annual African ICT Achievers awards. This very sophisticated event took place at the Dome in Northgate. Representing the Computer Society of South Africa, I was very pleased to meet up with my cousin Lee Easton and his wonderful wife Connie. The music was fantastic. A few performances from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera set the scene.