Share
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama apologized Monday after a video showing him kissing a child on the lips triggered criticism.
A statement posted on his official website said the 87-year-old leader regretted the incident and wished 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.”
The incident occurred at a public gathering in February at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamsala, where the exiled leader lives. He was taking questions from the audience when the boy asked if he could hug him.
The Dalai Lama invited the boy up toward the platform he was seated on. In the video, he gestured to his cheek, after which the child kissed him before giving him a hug.
The Dalai Lama then asked the boy to kiss him on the lips and stuck out his tongue. “And suck my tongue,” the Dalai Lama can be heard saying as the boy sticks out his own tongue and leans in, prompting laughter from the audience.
The footage triggered a backlash online with social media users condemning his behavior as inappropriate and disturbing.
“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” the statement from the Dalai Lama read.
The Dalai Lama has made the hillside town of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. India considers Tibet to be part of China, though it hosts Tibetan exiles.
RELATED TOPICS:
Thief Uses Sleight of Hand to Swipe $255K Tiffany Ring, Cops Say
9 hours ago
California Reports the First Increase in Groundwater Supplies in 4 Years
10 hours ago
Lawsuit Alleges Decades of Child Sex Abuse at Illinois Juvenile Detention Centers Statewide
10 hours ago
Texas Soldier Arrested in Russia on Theft Charges After Unexpected Detour
10 hours ago
Fresno Detectives Arrest Motorcycle Club Leader on Arson, Gun Charges
10 hours ago
Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism Awarded to The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP and Others
11 hours ago
Hamas Accepts Gaza Cease-Fire; Israel Launches Strikes in Rafah
12 hours ago
Tom Brady’s Netflix Roast Features Lots of Jabs and a Belichick-Kraft Reunion
12 hours ago
CA Limits How Police Respond to Protests. Why Were Bean Bag Shotguns Used at UCLA?
12 hours ago
This Is Why Banana Ball Drew 31,000 for the Series in Fresno