DHARAMSALA, India — Tibetan non secular chief the Dalai Lama apologized Monday after a video exhibiting him kissing a toddler on the lips triggered criticism.

A press release posted on his official web site mentioned the 87-year-old chief regretted the incident and wished to “apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused.”

The incident occurred at a public gathering in February on the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamsala, the place the exiled chief lives. He was taking questions from the viewers when the boy requested if he might hug him.

The Dalai Lama invited the boy up towards the platform he was seated on. In the video, he gestured to his cheek, after which the kid kissed him earlier than giving him a hug.

The Dalai Lama then requested the boy to kiss him on the lips and caught out his tongue. “And suck my tongue,” the Dalai Lama may be heard saying because the boy stands proud his personal tongue and leans in, prompting laughter from the viewers.

The footage triggered a backlash on-line with social media customers condemning his conduct as inappropriate and disturbing.

“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” the assertion from the Dalai Lama learn.

The Dalai Lama has made the hillside city of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed rebellion in opposition to Chinese rule in 1959. India considers Tibet to be a part of China, although it hosts Tibetan exiles.

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