Days after the video of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, which showed him asking a boy to suck his tongue, triggered a huge backlash on social media, another video has been doing the rounds, showing the boy featured in the clip, terming his meeting with the Buddhist monk “a really good experience”.
The boy was interviewed by RFA Tibetan after the meeting which took place at Tsuglagkhang, the main Tibetan temple in McLeodganj on February 28. On being asked when he felt, the boy said, “You can only feel the positive energy and I just can’t express how good it feels. It was a really good experience meeting him. It was inexpressible how blessed you feel when you get blessed by him.”
“You feel very positive energy and there is a lot of positive energy in you. Overall, it’s a very good experience.”
Ardent followers of the Dalai Lama, 87, and large section of the Tibetan community have come to their spiritual leader’s defence, saying that the viral video of him with the boy have been misinterpreted and that “tongue greetings” were part of the Tibetan culture.
Penpa Tsering, a top political leader of Tibet’s government-in-exile in India alleged that "pro-Chinese sources" were trying to tarnish the spiritual leader's image.
However, a large section of people who watched the video on social media expressed their shock and disgust at the Dalai Lama's action.
The viral clip begins with the 14th Dalai Lama asking the boy to kiss him on his right cheek when the latter had gone near him to pay his respects. The boy obliges by hugging him and kissing him on his cheek. Next, the Dalai Lama plants a kiss on the boy’s lips. People in the venue can be heard laughing and clapping when the spiritual leader does this. He then pulls the boy’s face and touches his forehead to the boy’s. A few seconds later, the Dalai Lama tells him, “Suck tongue.” He sticks his tongue out and draws the boy close to his face. His action drew loud laughter once again from people at the venue.
The Dalai Lama issued an apology on Monday after the viral was widely criticised.The spiritual leader "often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way", a statement said, adding that he "regrets" the incident.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet. China's military marched in and took control in 1951.
Beijing has accused him of fomenting separatism and it does not recognise Tibet's government-in-exile, which represents about a lakh Tibetans living in around 30 countries.
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