viral video
Dalai Lama apologizes to little boy after questionable gesture
The head of Tibetan Buddhists: the Dalai Lama
© Mohd Arhaan Archer / AFP
Criticism of the Dalai Lama is rare. Now the Tibetan leader has to apologize to a boy and his family.
Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has apologized after a video of him and a boy went viral. In which In the video, the Dalai Lama kisses the boy on the lips, then sticks out his tongue and asks him to suck it. Many people on social media criticized the Buddhist teacher’s behavior.
The Dalai Lama’s official Twitter account posted the following message on Monday: “A video clip is circulating showing a recent meeting where a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug. His Holiness would like to say hello to the apologize to the boy and his family, as well as to his many friends around the world, for the pain his words may have caused.”
It added: “His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and in front of cameras.” He therefore regrets the incident.
Dalai Lama’s Twitter community “shocked”
The recording comes from an event in the suburbs of the northern Indian city of Dharamshala on February 28. Twitter users had called the video “disgusting” and “absolutely sick” after it went viral on Sunday.
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She was “deeply shocked” by the behavior of the Dalai Lama, commented user Sangita. The priest has had to apologize for his sexist comments in the past. “But to say to a little boy ‘Lick my tongue’ is disgusting,” she wrote.
The Dalai Lama is loved by many people internationally, for many he is a symbol of harmony. From his exile in India, he promotes the rights of the Tibetans and wants to achieve cultural and religious freedoms for them within the People’s Republic, also in dialogue with China. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle.