The Dalai Lama is surely innocent however - the nature of the situation with cameras and concerned people reveals the misunderstanding at deep levels.

many zen masters - people wondered why they sometimes behaved like children

it is said that Ryokan preferred to spend more time with children than with the townspeople - simply because he was free!

there is an important point to me however in that a buddhist master and a child are not the same thing because the child is a kind of pure experiencing , and the buddhist teacher has much experience in life. another point is that in tibetan culture there are certain traditions which have existed in their culture related to reincarnated tulkus and children who are determined to be part of monkhood 

i dont think this is HH ‘s most graceful demonstration of that, but it is also important to understand that for his life from when he himself was a child he wanted to return to his home and could not. So i am curious about the context of this interaction which is missing and to me is at an innocent , childlike level 

ultimately 

The dalai lama doesnt engage with the egoic thoughtstream, but engages as compassion.