The Dalai Lama – the world-renowned spiritual leader of Buddhism over the past 60 years – is apologizing after a serious incident this weekend.

A video emerged of the spiritual leader kissing a child on the lips and asking him to “suck my tongue” in front of an enraptured audience.

In the video, a small boy approaches the 87-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, asking “can I hug you?”

The Dalai Lama tells the child, “first here,” prompting the child to give him a hug and a kiss.

The leader then points to his lips, and says: “then I think finally here also.” He then pulls the boy’s chin and kisses him on the mouth.

“And suck my tongue,” he says, poking his tongue out.

In response, the office of the Dalai Lama released an apology in a statement, saying he “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. The statement adds that he “regrets” the incident.

“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” the statement said.