The Dalai Lama has sparked outrage after kissing a young Indian boy on the lips and asking him to “suck” his tongue at an event last month. The footage has since gone viral and caused a stir in India, where the Dalai Lama lives in exile following the Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1951. The spiritual leader has since issued an apology for the incident stating “His Holiness wishes to apologise to the boy and his family” claiming that he often “teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way”.
The leader of Tibetan Buddhism, Tenzin Gyatso, was at an event for India’s M3 Foundation at his temple in Dharamshala, India.
In the video, the boy approaches the Dalai Lama and asks “Can I hug you?” The 87-year-old leader responds: “Okay, come.”
The boy approaches the Dalai Lama who motions to his cheek and says “first here” before the boy gives him a hug and a kiss.
The spiritual leader holds the boy’s arms and says “then I think here is fine also” and points at his mouth. He then grabs the boy’s chin and kisses him on the mouth while the audience laughs. The Dalai Lama then tells the boy “suck my tongue” before sticking his tongue out.
The two press their heads together and the boy quickly sticks out his tongue before backing away while the Dalai Lama laughs and slaps him on the chest playfully.
The boy attempts to move away but the spiritual leader holds his hand to his cheek and pulls the boy in for another hug.
He then gives the child spiritual advice saying “look [to] those good human beings who create peace, happiness” while telling him not to “follow those human beings who always kill other people”.
The clip has sparked backlash in India with some on social media branding it “creepy” or “disgusting” while supporters of the Dalai Lama claim he was joking around, according to local reports.
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It has also gone viral on Spanish language social media with Colombian journalist Vicky Dávila tweeting: “This video is scandalous. The Dalai Lama kisses a boy who approaches him on the mouth. The attendees applaud and laugh instead of condemning this aberration.”
The Buddhist leader has since apologised for the incident in a post on Twitter from the Dalai Lama’s official account.
It read: “A video clip has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug.
“His Holiness wishes to apologise to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused.”
“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” the statement continued. “He regrets the incident.”
This isn’t the first time the Dalai Lama has caused controversy. In 2019, he was forced to issue an apology after he remarked that if his successor was a woman “she should be more attractive”.
His office apologised suggesting his “off-the-cuff remarks, which might be amusing in one cultural context, lose their humour in translation when brought into another”.
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