Dharma Files | Dalai Lama and the pitfalls of cultural misunderstandings

The Dalai Lama has been in the news recently for what some would consider the wrong reasons. From this point of view, the Dalai Lama and the young boy exchanging a kiss on the lips is not as outrageous as it might appear in a Western context. I think we can assume that the Tibetan culture shares the Indian orientation, and therefore, the Dalai Lama sharing a chaste kiss with the young boy might be considered a little excessive, but hardly shocking, in the context of the social life of Tibetans and Indians. This is the first cultural barrier which has to be overcome in understanding the incident involving the Dalai Lama and the young boy. The behaviour of the Dalai Lama towards the young boy may not raise eyebrows in India but could raise a few in the milieu of a Western society, where it may not be considered right or proper.