The Dalai Lama apologizes for asking a child to suck his tongue

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama 'regrets' incident Photo: SANJAY KUMAR

Dalai Lama apologizes for asking for boy sucking his tongue and kissing him on the lips in a widely shared video clip.

The 87-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader «regrets» the incident, his office said in a statement on Monday.

“His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as to his many friends around the world, for the pain that his words may have caused,” the message reads.

“His Holiness often innocently and playfully teases the people he meets, even in public and in front of cameras,” the statement said following the backlash from social media users.

The video shows the Dalai Lama holding an unidentified boy under his chin and pulling him in for a kiss on the lips.

The boy turns his head away, but after a few seconds of talking, the Dalai Lama sticks out his tongue and asks: «Can you suck my tongue.»

Some people in the audience laugh, and the child sticks out his tongue slightly, turning his head towards the spiritual leader again.

The Dalai Lama then hugs the child and talks more to him, telling him to pay attention to «good people who create peace and happiness.»

The incident happened in February. On October 28, a Buddhist monk spoke to recent Indian graduates in the city of Dharamsala, where he lives in permanent exile.

The Delhi-based Haq Children's Rights Center told CNN that it condemns child abuse.»

«Some of the news mentions Tibetan culture about language display, but this video is definitely not about any kind of cultural expression, and even if it is, such cultural expressions are unacceptable,» the post reads.

what did you see?»

Twitter users criticized the video as «disgusting» and «absolutely disgusting» after it went viral on Sunday.

“I'm totally shocked to see this speech by the Dalai Lama. In the past, he too had to apologize for his sexist comments. But saying «Now suck my tongue on a little boy» is disgusting,» user Sangita wrote.

Another poster, Rakhi Tripathi, said: “What did I just see? How should this child feel? Disgusting.”

The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the most famous Buddhist figure in the world and has long led the movement for Tibetan autonomy.

He lived in exile. after the suppression of the Tibetan uprising by Chinese troops in 1959.

In 1989, he received the Nobel Peace Prize «for promoting peaceful solutions based on tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people.»

Despite this, the Chinese government accused the Dalai Lama of about being a «violent separatist», although he never supported violence as a means of achieving Tibetan independence.

Beijing also regularly criticizes and pressures world leaders and celebrities who meet with the Dalai Lama or even send simple messages such as birthday greetings to stifle his influence.

p>< p>With age, the spiritual leader reduces the number of speeches and interviews that he gives.

An 87-year-old man previously caused controversy for saying that if his successor as Dalai Lama was a woman, she «should be attractive.»

B In 2018, he said Europe must be kept for Europeans when discussing the growing number of migrants arriving on the continent.

“The whole of Europe (will) eventually become a Muslim country? Impossible. Or an African country? It's also impossible,» he said.