Dalai Lama apologises in child kissing row

Dharamshala: Tibetan Spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Monday tendered an apology and expressed regret for his action after a video purportedly showing him asking a child to suck his tongue after he had kissed the kid went viral.
A statement circulated by the media secretary to Dalai Lama said, “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”.
The statement further said, “His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident”.
A video showing the Dalai Lama kissing a child on his lips and then asking him to “suck his tongue” had triggered a row.
The video, which had gone viral on social media, shows the Dalai Lama planting a kiss on the boy’s lips when he leaned in to pay respect to the spiritual leader.
The Buddhist monk is seen sticking his tongue out as he asked the child to suck it. “Can you suck my tongue,” he is heard asking the minor boy in the video.
The video evoked angry reactions from Twitter users.
Sharing the video, Twitter user Joost Broekers wrote, “So the Dalai Lama is kissing an Indian boy at a Buddhist event and even tries to touch his tongue. He actually says “suck my tongue”. Now why would he do that?”
“This is unbecoming and no one should justify this ill-conduct of @DalaiLama,” wrote another Twitter user Deepika Pushkar Nath.
“What am I seeing? Is this Dalai Lama? Disgusting,” tweeted Jas Oberoi.
In 2019, the Dalai Lama had sparked a huge controversy for saying that if his successor were to be a woman, she should have to be “attractive”.
“If a female Dalai Lama comes, she should be more attractive,” he said.
The comments, which attracted criticism around the world, were made in an interview with the British broadcaster aired in 2019 from the Nobel peace prize winner’s exile in Dharamsala.
He had later apologised for his controversial comments.
Last month, the Dalai Lama had named a US-born Mongolian boy as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche, the third highest rank in Tibetan Buddhism.
The move to anoint the eight-year-old as the third-highest lama in Tibetan Buddhism is likely to irk China, which has been adamant that it will only recognise Buddhist leaders chosen by its own government.
Meanwhile Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of fomenting separatism in Tibet and it does not recognise the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), which represents about 100,000 exiled Tibetans living in around 30 countries including India, United States, Nepal and Canada.
Following this UNI approached the Media Secretary to Dalai Lama who issued a statement Monday in which the Dalai Lama tendered an apology for the action if it has hurt the sentiments of any one.
UNI