Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Footage shows moment Dalai Lama asked a little boy to ‘kiss his tongue’ in viral sexual assault scandal.
The spiritual leader’s office released a statement on Monday after footage of the bizarre interaction, which occurred last month during an event for India’s M3M Foundation, went viral on social media.
The statement 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,” according to CNN.
The Dalai Lama has apologized after a video emerged showing him kissing a child on the lips and then asking him to suck his tongue.
“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” the statement read, also saying he “regrets” the interaction.
The leader of Tibetan Buddhism, Tenzin Gyatso, was hosting students and members of the foundation at his temple in Dharamshala, India, where he lives in exile.
They press their foreheads together and the boy briefly pokes out his tongue before backing away, as the Dalai Lama gives him a playful slap on the chest and laughs.
The boy goes to move away but the Dalai Lama shakes his hand and holds it to his cheek, before pulling him in for another hug.
He then offers the boy some spiritual advice, telling him to “look [to] those good human beings who create peace, happiness” and not “not follow those human beings who always kill other people”.
The clip caused a stir in India, with some online branding the footage “creepy” and “disgusting”, while his supporters insisted he was “joking around” with the boy, according to local media.
The video has also gone viral on Spanish-language social media.
“This video is scandalous,” Colombian journalist Vicky Dávila wrote on Twitter. “The Dalai Lama kisses a boy who approaches him on the mouth. The attendees applaud and laugh instead of condemning this aberration.”
The Dalai Lama has apologized after a video emerged showing the spiritual leader kissing a child on the lips and then asking him to “suck my tongue” at an event in northern India.
In a statement 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.
His apology comes after a video of the exchange, which took place during an event in the hillside city of Dharamshala in February, went viral on social media with many users criticizing the Dalai Lama’s actions.
The 87-year-old spiritual leader then invites the boy on stage and points to his cheek and says, “first here,” prompting the boy to give him a hug and a kiss.
The Dalai Lama then points to his lips, and says: “then I think finally here also.” He then pulls the boy’s chin and kisses him on the mouth.
“And suck my tongue,” he says after a few seconds, poking his tongue out.
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. CNN has reached out to the M3M Foundation for comment.
In response to the incident, prominent Delhi-based child rights group, Haq: Center for Child Rights, told CNN in a statement it condemns “all form of child abuse.”
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