The Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader, on Monday he apologized to a little boy for kissing him on the mouth and asking him to suck his tongue a few weeks ago during a hearing, the video of which went viral on social media.

“His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends around the world, for any pain his words may have caused,” read a statement on his official Twitter account.

“His Holiness often jokes with people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and on camera. I’m sorry about this incident”adds the message, as reported by the AFP news agency.

Tenzin Gyatso -the Dalai Lama-, 87 years old, was with a group of 120 students who had graduated.

“Since I came to live in India, I have been able to meet all kinds of people, including scholars and scientists, who are interested in methods of achieving the peace of mind that has kept us alive,” the Dalai Lama told the young people. at that event.

While he was making his speech, a boy interrupted him and he made him get on where he was.

There, as reported by media such as Tribune India and India Times, she greeted him with a kiss on the mouthhe hugged him and finally, before greeting him with a “thank you”, asked him to “suck his tongue”.

“Can you suck my tongue?” the man says and then sticks out his tonguetriggering the hilarity of those present.

Video was recorded on February 28thduring an audience with the Dalai Lama in McLeod Ganj, a suburb of Dharamsala in northern India, where the spiritual leader has lived in exile since the failure of the 1951 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.

Strong rejection in networks

Some netizens called his attitude “disgusting” and “utterly unhealthy”. “Parents, don’t neglect your children”, “Incredible and they see it as normal”, “I have read books and sentences of the Dalai Lama and he has always seemed super nice! Especially when he talks about pains or processes, but seeing this I completely fell on the ground!”, were some of the comments of repudiation.

“I have read that Tibetans stick out their tongues in greeting and wishes for peace. But from there to kissing a child on the mouth and asking him to take his tongue. OHThis is not part of that ancient culture! Apart from the strong scene, it is dirty and aberrational! It’s detestable!” added another person.

The official Twitter account for Tibetan administration news shared a clip of the moment, but omitted the much-commented portion on that social network.

Back in 2019, the Dalai Lama had to apologize for saying that if a woman were to succeed him, she would have to be “attractive”. These comments, in an interview with the BBC, have caused controversy and a strong scandal on social media.

The Dalai Lama is the representative of the movement for the autonomy of Tibetbut the international presence he enjoyed when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 has diminished partly because of his age but also because of China’s growing economic and political influence.