The Dalai Lama is a title given by the people of Tibet to the most prominent leader of the Gelug, or ‘Yellow Hat’, school of Tibetan Buddhism.
He currently lives as a refugee in India having fled the Tibetan capital Lhasa during the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
Representing Buddhist values and traditions, the Dalai Lama is seen as an important status for Tibetan independence.
However, the deluge of invitations to meet with world leaders and Hollywood stars has slowed, partly because the ageing leader has cut back on his punishing travel schedule, but also due to China’s growing economic and political influence.
Beijing accuses him of wanting to split China, and has referred to him as a ‘wolf in a monk’s robe’.
Did the Dalai Lama kiss a boy?
The Dalai Lama issued an apology after an unsettling video appeared on social media in which he kissed a young Indian boy on the lips before asking him to ‘suck’ his tongue.
In the video, the boy asks the Dalai Lama ‘can I hug you?’, to which Tenzin Gyatso responds: ‘Okay – come!’
The spiritual leader first asks the boy to kiss him on the cheek, before pointing at his lips. He holds the boy’s face as they briefly kiss, then the pair press their foreheads together.
Just as the boy goes to pull away, the Dalai Lama instructs him: ‘And suck my tongue’ – prompting him to slowly inch forward towards the 87-year-old’s outstretched tongue.
What did the Dalai Lama say about women?
This is not the first time the Dalai Lama has landed himself in hot water.
Each Dalai Lama is believed to be a reincarnation of their predecessor.
After being asked about the possibility that his own reincarnation could be a woman, he said: ‘If female Dalai Lama comes, then she should be more attractive.
He suggested that otherwise, ‘people I think prefer, not [to] see her, that face’. He also said in 2015 that a female Dalai Lama ‘would not be much use’.
‘He is deeply sorry that people have been hurt by what he said and offers his sincere apologies.’
