The Dalai Lama apologized Monday morning after a video of him kissing a toddler on the lips and asking him to suck his tongue went viral on social media.
The Tibetan Buddhist religious chief expressed his apologies to the boy and his household, “in addition to his many mates the world over, for the harm his phrases might have brought on,” in line with a press release by his workplace.
“His Holiness typically teases individuals he meets in an harmless and playful approach, even in public and earlier than cameras. He regrets the incident,” it added. The assertion didn’t reference the kiss.
The video was taken within the Indian city of Dharamsala in February, on the temple the place the Dalai Lama lives. In it, you’ll be able to see the younger boy asking for a hug. The Dalai Lama factors to his cheek, saying “first right here” after which the Dalai Lama factors to his personal lips and asks for an additional kiss. The 87-year-old priest then says “and suck my tongue” within the clip, placing his brow nearer to the younger boy’s.
The clip was instantly criticized and seen by thousands and thousands of individuals on-line who have been shocked by the Dalai Lama’s actions, calling it “sick” and “pedophilic.”
“That is NOT playful banter & so inappropriate to make use of ‘affectionately crops kiss’ alongside ‘suck my tongue’. Hugs are nice[,] not this,” tweeted Dr. Shola Mos Shogbamimu, a British ladies’s rights activist . “Don’t normalize molestation of youngsters – don’t care how revered the Dalai Lama is I’m not OK with a toddler sucking a grown man/lady/anybody’s tongue.”
Protruding your tongue is seen as a “signal of respect or settlement” and is a conventional Tibetan greeting, in line with NPR.
Dalai Lamas are believed to be “manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet,” in line with the present Dalai Lama’s on-line biography. He gained the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent motion towards China’s occupation of Tibet. Tibetan Buddhists imagine him to be a determine of peace that may be a reincarnation of the 13 earlier Dalai Lamas, all with a mission to assist humanity.
The Dalai Lama additionally has difficult ties to the self-help cult NXIVM, which has a historical past of sexual abuse. Chief Keith Raniere was sentenced to jail after an investigation discovered that a number of ladies, together with one teenage lady, was coerced into having intercourse with Raniere. The women additionally had Raniere’s initials branded on their pelvises.
In a nine-part documentary collection on NXIVM, it was revealed that the Dalai Lama was invited to talk on compassionate ethics at a convention that was attended by NXIVM members in 2009, a decade earlier than Raniere was convicted. The Dalai Lama obtained criticism previous to his scheduled look, inflicting him to cancel his go to, although he later attended the convention.
Extra Should-Reads From TIME