The Dalai Lama has apologised after he was filmed asking a boy to "suck my tongue".

The Dalai Lama has apologised after video footage showed him asking a young boy to "suck my tongue" at a public event. 

The 87-year-old spiritual leader was filmed interacting with a boy during an event attended by 100 young students at his temple in Dharamshala, India, in February. 

In the video, which has one million views on Twitter, the boy approaches a microphone and asks the Dalai Lama "Can I hug you?", The Guardian reports. 

The Dalai Lama then tells the boy to approach before motioning to his cheek and saying "first here". The boy then gives him a hug and kiss. 

Afterwards, the 87-year-old says "then I think fine here also" as he points to his lips. 

He then grabs the boy's chin and kisses him on the mouth as the audience laughs. 

"And suck my tongue," the Dalai Lama adds before sticking out his tongue. 

The boy then sticks out his tongue as the pair press their foreheads together. 

The boy reportedly then tries to back away as the Dalai Lama pulls him in for another hug. 

The spiritual leader later advised the boy to create "peace and happiness" and not to follow "human beings who always kill other people".

JUST IN: The Dalai Lama affectionately plants a kiss on the lips of a young Indian boy. "Suck my tongue." pic.twitter.com/3vsHcQOa7U

— The Herald Post (@TheHeraldPostUS) April 9, 2023

On Monday, The Dalai Lama's office released a statement on Twitter addressing the video, which has been labelled "inappropriate", "wrong" and "disgusting" online. 

"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," it read. 

"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 added the Dalai Lama leader "often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident".

pic.twitter.com/vlmUbI4vqz

— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) April 10, 2023

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.

- With AAP. 

Feature Image: Sandeep Kumar/Anadolu Agency/Getty.