Tibetan religious leader, Dalai Lama, has issued an apology following the release of a video showing him kissing a child on the lips and then instructing him to “suck my tongue” at an event in northern India.
According to the CBN, 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.
As a video of the incident, which occurred in February at an event in the highland city of Dharamshala, went popular on social media, many people voiced their disapproval of the Dalai Lama’s behavior, prompting him to issue an apology.
The footage shows the young youngster go up to the Nobel laureate and asking, “May I hug you?”
The 87-year-old spiritual leader then calls the boy up on stage, says, “first here,” and gestures to the boy’s cheek, eliciting an embrace and a kiss from the youngster.
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.