What if Tenzin Gyatso meant it?

“If our history can challenge the next wave of musicians to keep moving and changing, to keep spiritually hungry and horny, that's what it's all about.”

— Carlos Santana

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WHAT if Tenzin Gyatso, also known as the 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetan spiritual leader, really meant it when he told a boy to “suck my tongue”?

And because his encounter with the boy was recorded and spread like a prairie fire, it created a tidal wave of nasty reactions and vicious comments around the world from those who thought he was horny.

If there are lecherous priests and pastors (we personally know a lot), are there also lustful spiritual leaders in Dalai Lama’s category and stature? Of course, we aren’t saying the Dalai Lama was raunchy. 

With due respect, as long as they are human beings, any high priest or church figureheads can have sexual desires too, or can make a mea culpa in public during unguarded (and even “guarded”) moments. 

Let’s call spade a spade here and refrain from being hypocrites. Even Jesus was accused of cavorting with Magdalene.  

The Dalai Lama was nevertheless forced to apologize on April 10 after a video surfaced online showing him kissing a boy on the lips at a public event in February this year and then saying to the child the now infamous, “Suck my tongue.”

Coming from a known spiritual guru, the apology would always be welcomed if not accepted.

 

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Taken in the hill town of Dharamsala, Northern India, the video showed the 87-year-old Buddhist leader speak briefly to the boy in front of an audience before kissing him and then pulling him close to his outstretched tongue.

According to New Delhi-based writer Sameer Yasir, the apology issued by the Dalai Lama’s office said only that the boy, who was not identified, had asked the spiritual leader if he could give him a hug, making no reference to the kiss or the extended tongue. It said that the Dalai Lama’s actions had been lighthearted.

“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident,” his office said, adding that the Dalai Lama wished to apologize “for the hurt his words may have caused.”

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. 

He was allowed to set up a government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India and at 54 years old he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. He is expected to announce his successor when he turns 90.

Yasir said the February event was organized by the M3M Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the M3M Group, an Indian real estate company.

 

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In the video online, the boy stands in the audience before the Dalai Lama and says into a microphone, “Can I hug you?” As the boy approaches him, the Dalai Lama points to his cheek and says “first here.” The boy gives him a kiss and then embraces the Dalai Lama, smiling widely.

Then the Dalai Lama points to his own lips and says, “Then I think finally here also.” He pulls the boy’s chin and kisses him on the mouth, to laughter and applause from the audience. Seconds later, the leader says “and suck my tongue,” poking his tongue out and resting his forehead against the boy’s.

The Tibetan leader also apologized in 2019 over remarks he made in an interview with the BBC, in which he said that any future female Dalai Lama “should be more attractive.” His office later said he was sorry that people had been hurt, and that he had been joking.

Yasir said the spiritual leader has also drawn criticism for public remarks in recent years, including in 2018, after large numbers of refugees had traveled to Europe from North Africa and the Middle East.

 

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FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE. God gave us the ingredients for our daily bread but He expects us to do the baking. Whatever we bake this day, may it please the one we serve.

SEXUAL ANATOMY. Sex education is a broad term used to describe education about human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual  intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations,  reproductive  rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and other aspects of human sexual  behavior. Common avenues for sex education are parents or caregivers, school  programs, and public health campaigns.

DIFFERENT STYLES. The Kama Sutra details techniques on 10 types of kisses, 64 different caresses, eight variations on oral sex, and 84 positions for intercourse.

SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE DELAYED. If Alexandria was not burned, scientific knowledge would have flourished before the Medieval Period or the Dark Ages.

ANTI-HOMOSEXUALS. The Polish president who perished in a plane crash in Russia in 2010 was a staunch enemy of homosexuals. When he was alive, he sought to banish all homosexuals in Poland but failed because some of the clergymen closed to him were homosexuals.

YOUNG GENERAL. George Washington was only 18 when he was appointed general of the Continental Army, and was the only U.S. president who didn't live in the White House.

(The author, who is now base in New York City, used to be the editor of two local daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)