Dalai Lama apologizes for kissing little boy, asking him to 'suck' his tongue



The Dalai Lama issued an apology Monday after a video went viral showing the Tibetan Buddhist leader kissing and touching a young boy in northern India.

The video was captured on Feb. 28 at an event in the town of Dharamshala where the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is headquartered in exile. The footage shows Gyatso kissing a boy on the lips, then asking him to suck his tongue.

A boy, who has not been identified, had asked the 87-year-old Nobel Prize winner whether he could hug him, at which point Gyatso said, "Okay — come," and invited him on stage.

Gyatso indicated that before they could hug, he first wanted a kiss on the cheek.

After the child complied, Gyatso pointed to his lips, saying, "Then I think finally here also." He then clasped the boy's chin, pulled it toward him, and kissed the child on the lips.

Gyatso, who previously made headlines for suggesting former President Donald Trump "lacks moral principle," was apparently not yet satisfied. After a loaded pause, he said, "And suck my tongue."

The boy appeared to pull away, but Gyatso claimed one last hug.

Nobody in the audience intervened or mounted a protest.

\u201c\ud83e\udd22 This is an alarming scene! The Dalai Lama, who has had ties to NXIVM in the past, caught on camera trying to make advances to an Indian boy.\n\nYou can clearly see the boy's body language as he yanks back the first time, then throws his head upward as the Dalai-Lama says "SUCK\u2026\u201d
— NATLY DENISE (@NATLY DENISE) 1681045651

Weeks after the incident, Gyatso's office issued the following statement: "A video clip has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug. His Holiness wishes 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."

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

The New York Post reported that some Indians stressed that this incident was "creepy" and "disgusting," whereas staunch supporters of the 87-year-old Buddhist leader suggested he had simply been "joking around."

Broadcast journalist Griha Atul tweeted in response to the Gyatso's apology, "Teasing people or plain distasteful? This incident can brand him a paedophile. Period!"'

A prominent Delhi-based child rights group, Haq, emphasized in a statement to CNN that this was not a culturally excusable or specific invitation.

"Some news refers to Tibetan culture about showing tongue, but this video is certainly not about any cultural expression and even if it is, such cultural expressions are not acceptable," said the rights group.

China, antipathetic to Tibetans who seek independence, has long been critical of the Dalai Lama and censored his content online. Beijing will likely exploit this episode in future propaganda efforts against Tibetan sovereigntists.

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Climate activist burns himself to death at Supreme Court, friend claims it was a 'deeply fearless act of compassion'



A Colorado man died on Earth Day after setting himself on fire on the steps of the Supreme Court building to protest climate change.

What are the details?

Around 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Wynn Bruce — a 50-year-old man from Boulder, Colorado — walked onto the steps of the Supreme Court building and lit himself on fire.

After the flames were extinguished, Bruce was airlifted to a nearby hospital for lifesaving care, but he died of his injuries on Saturday.

Dr. Kritee Kanko, a climate scientist and a Zen Buddhist priest, revealed on Sunday that Bruce had been planning his protest for some time. She described the incident as a "deeply fearless act of compassion."

"This guy was my friend. He meditated with our sangha. This act is not suicide. This is a deeply fearless act of compassion to bring attention to climate crisis," Kanko wrote on Twitter. "We are piecing together info but he had been planning it for atleast one year. #wynnbruce I am so moved."

This guy was my friend. He meditated with our sangha. This act is not suicide. This is a deeply fearless act of compassion to bring attention to climate crisis. We are piecing together info but he had been planning it for atleast one year. #wynnbruce I am so moved.https://twitter.com/stevesilberman/status/1517936564117987329\u00a0\u2026
— Dr. K. Kritee (@Dr. K. Kritee) 1650778726

Bruce identified as a Buddhist, the New York Times reported.

Lighting yourself on fire is known as "self-immolation" and is used as a means of protest, typically for religious or political reasons. For example, dozens of Vietnamese monks burned themselves to death in the 1960s and 1970s to protest the Vietnam war. Tibetan monks, meanwhile, practice self-immolation to protest China.

According to the New York Times, Bruce is the fourth person to engage in self-immolation in the nation's capital.

There have been previous instances of public self-immolation in Washington. Arnav Gupta burned himself in front of the White House in 2019 and later died of his injuries. A motive in that case was never determined. Mohamed Alanssi, a Yemeni-born F.B.I. informant, set himself on fire outside the White House in 2004 in protest of his treatment by the government, but he survived. Norman R. Morrison, a Quaker man, burned himself to death outside the Pentagon in 1965 in protest of the Vietnam War.

Anything else?

Journalist Josh Barro pointed out the hypocrisy of the media's reporting on Bruce's death.

Referring to the politically correct way to report that someone killed himself (i.e., "died by suicide"), Barro observed how such acts suddenly become palatable when they advance the progressive agenda.

"Newspapers bend over backwards on other suicide-related verbiage (you can’t say 'committed suicide' anymore) but when there’s a climate angle suddenly it becomes a 'fearless' protest," Barro said.

Again, a wildly inappropriate subhead choice that glorifies suicide. Newspapers bend over backwards on other suicide-related verbiage (you can\u2019t say \u201ccommitted suicide\u201d anymore) but when there\u2019s a climate angle suddenly it becomes a \u201cfearless\u201d protest. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/us/politics/climate-activist-self-immolation-supreme-court.html\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/pAkc9fvkOc
— Josh Barro (@Josh Barro) 1650839487

Tibet Is Still Fighting For Freedom Against Brutal Chinese Oppression

Barbara Demick's book, 'Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town,' provides yet more evidence that the Chinese Communist Party is an oppressive evil that must be confronted.