Dalai Lama regrets asking boy to 'suck my tongue'

The Tibetan spiritual leader, known as the Dalai Lama, expressed regret when video surfaced showing him asking a young boy whether he wanted to suck his tongue.

He wanted to apologize to the boy and his family "for any hurt his words may have caused," according to his office.

The Dalai Lama can be seen kissing the boy on the lips in the video as well.

Even in front of the public and cameras, His Holiness enjoys innocently and jokingly teasing everyone he encounters. He regrets the situation, according to his office.

Numerous social media users criticized the video harshly, calling it unpleasant and disrespectful.

The incident seems to have occurred on February 28 at the Dalai Lama's temple in Dharamshala.  

The M3M Foundation, the charitable arm of real estate firm M3M Group, had organized a skills training program for about 120 children, with which he had interacted.

The Dalai Lama is seen hugging the youngster from the trending video in one of the photographs from the event that the organization shared on social media in March.

The kid is seen asking the Dalai Lama whether he can give him a hug in the viral footage. The boy gives the leader a hug and a kiss on the cheek when the leader points to it and says, "First here."

The Dalai Lama then kisses the youngster on the lips while still holding the boy's hand and says, "I think here also," while pointing to his lips.

More embraces follow as the spiritual leader continues to encourage the boy to look to "good human beings who create peace and happiness" for guidance.

In Tibet, sticking one's tongue out might be a sign of welcoming.

After an uprising against Chinese control in Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled the country and has been living in exile in India ever since.

After the spiritual leader told the BBC in an interview that any future female Dalai Lama should be "attractive," the Dalai Lama's administration issued an apology in 2019.