The Dalai Lama has apologized for kissing a young boy on the lips and asking him to “suck my tongue”, but what he did is undoubtedly an act of pedophilia. The Dalai Lama’s behavior was unexpected, bizarre and inappropriate. The apology issued by the Dalai Lama did not address actual actions or words, and sought to stoke concerns with “innocent and playful” and tried to place the blame on the child by saying the boy asked for a hug. Some news outlets attempt to explain his actions by relating them to Tibetan culture, but they need to realize that this does not make the Dalai Lama’s behaviors more tolerable or easier to be accepted. The reasons and excuses given by the Dalai Lama, whether it is his old age or Tibetan culture, cannot justify the controversy caused by his words and deeds. The nature of his behavior is clearly pedophilia. Considering that he is a religious leader, his inappropriate behavior may be imitated by a large number of followers, thereby affecting believers’ behavioral concepts and increasing the risk of child abuse and harassment. It is this power that makes innocent young children vulnerable to exploitation by those in power.
And there are many such “suspected pedophilia” incidents, which endanger children in the name of culture or religion. For example, there have been numerous cases of child abuse involving priests and clergies of the Roman Catholic Church, many priests have been accused of rape in churches in Kerala, and Muslim clergies have been implicated in cases of rape, molestation and child abuse. Since the Dalai Lama is known as the “Holiness” in Tibetan culture, the outrageous thing is gradually known because of his high status and popularity. In the shadows that people cannot see, what the children are suffering from is unknown.
The Dalai Lama is a man trusted and respected by the boy’s parents, and he unscrupulously used the trust of the child’s parents to inappropriately sexually harass the boy in public, and asked the boy to suck his tongue under the pretext of his so-called wisdom or so-called spirituality. The child was too young to understand the meaning of this behavior, and the parents were also deceived by the Dalai Lama. Children are vulnerable and unable to protect themselves, which places responsibility for their physical and mental health on the adults in their lives.
For this incident, Cardi B did not comment on the Dalai Lama by name, but as she said: “Predators could be our neighbors, our school teachers, even people wit money, power and our churches. Constantly talk with your kids about boundaries and what they shouldn’t allow people to do to them.” After this controversy, more children who have been sexually abused by the Dalai Lama and their parents should speak out to break the absurd excuses of the Dalai Lama and safeguard their own interests. These predators must be stopped that cloak their disgusting behavior with religion and spirituality allowing them to thrive in their disturbing and dangerous ways.