‘Damage control’? Dalai Lama drama vs Tibetan tongue greeting

The Dalai Lama “suck my tongue” drama has sparked widespread criticism online. Surprisingly, the Tibetan spiritual leader’s followers present at his temple in northern India’s Dharamshala city during the incident on 28 February, did not find anything objectionable, with some even heard laughing in the video clip.

Some social media users have also now come to the defence of the Dalai Lama, claiming it is within Tibetan culture to stick one’s tongue out as a way of greeting.

WATCH: Dalai Lama asks boy to ‘suck my tongue’

The Dalai Lama issued an official apology on Monday after the video of him asking a boy to suck his tongue went viral.

The footage — from an event at the Dalai Lama’s temple in northern India’s Dharamshala city on 28 February – shows the 87-year-old pouting his lips for a kiss on the mouth. This despite the fact that the boy already paid his respects by kissing his cheek and giving him a hug.

The Dalai Lama can then be seen sticking out his tongue, saying “…and suck my tongue” to the boy.

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Dalai Lama apologises for ‘hurt his words may have caused’

The incident has been labelled as “creepy”, “inappropriate” and “repulsive” by social media users after it started trending on Sunday.

In an apology posted on the Dalai Lama’s Twitter account, his office said he wanted to apologise to the child and his family “for the hurt his words may have caused”.

“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident.” 

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ALSO READ: WATCH: Dalai Lama apologises for asking boy to suck his tongue

Did the Dalai Lama ‘abuse’ Tibetan tradition of ‘tongue greeting’?

Ever wondered why a group of Tibetans stuck out their tongues at Brad Pitt’s character in the 1997 blockbuster film Seven Years in Tibet?

According to a report by the Institute of East Asian Studies at UC Berkeley, sticking out one’s tongue is a show of respect or agreement and frequently served as a greeting in traditional Tibetan culture

The report further explains the lengthy history behind this seemingly odd custom.

“Based on Tibetan folklore, a cruel ninth-century Tibetan king [Lang Drama] had a black tongue, so people stick out their tongues to show that they are not like him (and aren’t his reincarnation)”.

‘Damage control’?

Social media users have lashed out at the apparent explanation, labelling it “damage control” while pointing out that the traditional greeting says nothing about “tongue sucking”.

ALSO READ: WATCH: ‘Spiritual brothers’ Tutu and Dalai Lama’s special friendship

Other controversies involving the Dalai Lama

The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been living in exile in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959, following an uprising against Chinese rule there.

• In 2019, the Tibetan spiritual came under fire for saying in an interview with BBC that if his successor were to be a woman, she would have to be “attractive”.
• In 2018, the Dalai Lama remarked on the issue of immigrants at a conference in Malmo, Sweden. According to the Independent, he stated that “Europe belongs to the Europeans” and said refugees should return to their native countries.