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'Creepy': Dalai Lama apologizes after video emerges of him asking young boy to 'suck' his tongue

'His holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way,' the statement from the office of the Dalai Lama said

DHARAMSALA, HIMACHAL PRADESH: The Dalai Lama has issued a statement expressing his apology for an incident that reportedly happened in February in India’s city of Dharamsala, situated in the state of Himachal Pradesh. As per reports, at the time, the spiritual leader allegedly behaved inappropriately with a boy, who requested him to give him a hug.

The event was organized by the M3M Foundation, a charity launched by the Indian real estate company M3M Group, The Guardian reported. It was attended by nearly 100 young graduate students from the Indian M3M Foundation. The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was also present at the function.

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‘I think here also’

Videos of the February incident showed a male child asking the holiest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, “Can I hug you?” The 87-year-old spiritual leader then asked him to come to the stage and signaled him to first kiss him on one of his cheeks. He also told the boy to kiss him on the lips by saying, “I think here also,” before kissing his lips. He, however, apparently ended by stating, “And suck my tongue,” as he kept his tongue out.

'Disgusting'

It has been said that the Dalai Lama hugged the child at the end and suggested he should not idolize those “who always kill other people.” He also asked him to follow people who make “peace and happiness.” But the video was not taken in good spirits by people online as a user commented, “It is so creepy on many levels and whatever may be the intention but is so so so wrong .. how the hell they capturing it and clapping around.” "Disgusting," another user tweeted.

After the backlash, the statement from the office of the Dalai Lama said, “His Holinesss 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. His holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident.”

But the damage had already been done as a person tweeted, “The boy asked for a hug. You asked the boy to suck your tongue. We all heard that. Why is it missing in your 'apology'. And asking a boy to suck your tongue isn’t 'playful' as you have written. Do you the pain of how that small boy would be thinking about this?” “Yes. It’s disgusting to see how everyone laughed about this bizarre act against a child!” a tweet added.

 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.