NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama has apologised over an incident where he was seen kissing a young boy at a public event in Dharamshala. During an audience with the Dalai Lama, the boy had asked if he could hug the spiritual leader. A video clip of the incident has gone viral.
"His Holiness wishes to apologise to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused,’’ read a statement issued by the Dalai Lama’s office.
"His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras (like he did in this episode). He regrets the incident," the statement added.
The incident occurred on February 28 when the M3M Foundation had a meeting with the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala. It was during the course of the event that the little boy raised his hand and asked if he could come and give the Dalai Lama a hug.
In the video, the Dalai Lama took a few moments to understand the request and then called the boy over to the podium. He asked the boy to kiss him on his cheek after which he kissed the boy on his mouth and then stuck out his tongue asking if he wanted to suck it.
The video of this incident went viral on Sunday and has led to an outburst of emotions – mostly of outrage as this behaviour wasn’t expected from a spiritual leader who is also a Nobel laureate.
His supporters, however, have said that this was inadvertent and misconstrued and nothing more should be read into it as it happened in full public view, without any ill-intention.