New Delhi: The Dalai Lama found himself at the centre of a controversy after a video showed the Tibetan spiritual leader kissing a minor boy on his lips and then asking him to ‘suck his tongue’.
However, an opologising statement has come from his office or the hurt his words may have caused.
The video, which has gone viral on social media platforms, evoked a furious response from the netizens. The video shows the Dalai Lama kissing the child on his lips as the latter leaned in to pay his respects.
After a few second, the Tibetan spiritual leader can be seen pointing to his mouth and sticking his tongue out. “Can you suck my tongue,” the Dalai Lama can be heard asking the minor boy in the video.
In a statement issued on Monday, the office for the Dalai Lama said he “wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused,” adding he “regrets” the incident.
“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” the statement said.
The identity of the boy is not known. He was at an event with the M3M Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Indian real estate company M3M Group, based in Dharamshala, where the Dalai Lama lives in permanent exile.
