The Dalai Lama has apologised after footage of him asking a young boy to “suck my tongue” at a public event went viral and triggered backlash.

In the clip, a young boy approaches the Tibetan spiritual leader and asks to give him a hug.

The 87-year-old accepts, saying “kiss here” as he offers a cheek while the boy wraps his arms around him.

The Dalai Lama then points to his lips, saying “then I think finally here also”, and pecks the child’s lips and laughs.

Afterwards the Dalai Lama asks the child to “suck my tongue” and pokes out his tongue.

Poking out the tongue is a traditional greeting and form of respect in Tibet.

Social media users expressed disgust at the encounter as the video was circulated online.

It was reportedly filmed at a public event in India in February.

On Monday, a statement was released to the Dalai Lama’s 19 millon Twitter followers.

The statement read: “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 apologise to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused.”

The statement said the Tibetan leader “often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident.”

The video which went viral shows the encounter in the presence of an audience who are heard clapping and laughing, while a man captures the moment on a phone.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, is regarded by Beijing as a dangerous separatist.

He has worked for decades to draw global support for linguistic and cultural autonomy in his remote, mountainous homeland.

He now lives in a compound next to a temple ringed by green hills and snow-capped mountains in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala.

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