The Dalai Lama has found himself embroiled in yet another controversy after a video of him kissing a child on the lips and then asking the child to "suck his tongue" went viral on social media.
In the video, the Dalai Lama can be seen planting a kiss on the lips of a child who had leaned in to pay his respects. The Buddhist monk then sticks his tongue out and asks the child to suck it. The venue and date of the event were not immediately clear.
The video has sparked outrage on Twitter, with users calling the act "disgusting," "outrageous," and "condemnable." Many were left questioning why the Dalai Lama would engage in such behavior.
Why is the Dalai Lama fondling this young boy and asking him to “suck his tongue”? pic.twitter.com/cZWHfbgTAd
— Stew Peters (@realstewpeters) April 9, 2023
"So the Dalai Lama is kissing an Indian boy at a Buddhist event and even tries to touch his tongue. He actually says 'suck my tongue.' Now why would he do that?" wrote Twitter user Joost Broekers.
This is not the first time that the Dalai Lama has been involved in controversy. In 2019, he came under fire for comments he made about the appearance of a potential female successor, stating that she should be "attractive." The comments were widely criticized as sexist and drew condemnation from around the world. The Dalai Lama later apologized for his remarks.
Utterly shocked to see this display by the #DalaiLama. In the past too, he’s had to apologize for his sexist comments. But saying - Now suck my tongue to a small boy is disgusting.
— Sangita (@Sanginamby) April 9, 2023
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The Dalai Lama is the current spiritual leader and head of state of Tibet, serving since 1940. He is considered a living Bodhisattva, specifically an emanation of Avalokiteśvara in Sanskrit and Chenrezig in Tibetan. He is also the leader and monk of the Gelug school, the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism, formerly headed by the Ganden Tripa. The central government of Tibet, the Ganden Phodrang, invested the Dalai Lama with temporal duties until his exile in 1959.