Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is facing a scandal after he kissed an underage boy on the lips and asked him to “suck” his tongue. He has now apologized. In an official statement on the incident, which took place in February at the Indian temple in Dharamsala, it is said that the Dalai Lama “often playfully and innocently teases people”.
In a video circulating on social media, one of the hundreds of young students stepped up to the microphone and asked the Dalai Lama, “Can I hug you?”
The 87-year-old Dalai Lama told the boy to approach the podium where he was sitting. He pointed to his face and can be heard saying “here first”, after which the child kissed and hugged him, reports the British newspaper The Guardian.
The Dalai Lama continued to hold the boy and said, “I think here too.” He then planted a kiss on his lips. “And kiss my tongue,” he added, sticking his tongue out at the student as their faces touched forehead to forehead. The boy quickly stuck out his own tongue and pulled his face away.
The Dalai Lama laughed, as did the audience, and pulled the boy close to hug him again.
The spiritual leader then spoke to the boy and advised him to turn to those who create “peace and happiness” and not to follow “human beings who are always killing other people”. He then hugged him one last time.
The incident took place in February during a meeting with a hundred Indian students. When it spread across the internet, many condemned it, calling it “inappropriate”, “scandalous” or “disgusting”. The Dalai Lama released this Monday in response to public criticism declarationin which he apologizes to “the boy and his family, as well as friends around the world who may have been hurt by (the Dalai Lama’s) words”.
“His Holiness often playfully and innocently teases people he meets, even in public and in front of cameras. He is sorry that the incident happened,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said in a statement.
The cleric has faced controversy in the past. In 2019, he sparked outrage after suggesting that if the Dalai Lama returned as a woman, “she should be more attractive”, for which his office apologized.
The Dalai Lama was consecrated as the spiritual leader of the country at the age of 15, when the troops of Communist China invaded Tibet and the invaded country needed a sacred authority at the head. He has been living in exile in Dharamsala, India since 1959.
