The office of the Dalai Lama has said that he is "deeply sorry" for again saying that his successor could only be a woman if she was also attractive.

The Spiritual Leader of Tibetan Buddhism, 83, made the remarks in a wide-ranging interview with the BBC last week.

In 2015, he first said that while he would welcome a female Dalai Lama, she would be "not much use" unless she was "very attractive."

BBC News reporter Rajini Vaidyanathan asked the religious leader whether he still stood by the remarks in an interview published last Thursday.

“If a female Dalai Lama comes, she should be more attractive,” he reiterated.

“[If not] people, I think prefer, not see her, that face.”

The Dalai Lama has led the Tibetan government for around 300 years.

Since 1959, he has ruled in exile from Dharamsala in northern India after fleeing from Tibet, fearing detention at the hands of the Chinese authorities.

In accordance with Buddhist belief, once the acting Dalai Lama dies his soul is passed into another newborn through the process of reincarnation.

So far, there have been 14 different Dalai Lamas and each one has been male.

The current Dalai Lama has lived in exile in northern India since 1959 after fearing that he would be arrested if he stayed in ChinaCredit:
STR/AFP

“[In] responding to a question about whether his own reincarnation could be a woman, and suggesting that if she were she should be attractive, his Holiness genuinely meant no offence,” his office said in a statement on Tuesday.

“He is deeply sorry that people have been hurt by what he said and offers his sincere apologies.

“His Holiness consistently emphasises the need for people to connect with each other on a deeper human level, rather than getting caught up in preconceptions based on superficial appearances.”

It also claimed that the original comments that the Dalai Lama made in 2015 were meant as a joke.

Women’s rights groups have condemned the religious leader.

"It’s disappointing any woman’s ability to take on a leadership role should be determined by her appearance," said Vivienne Hayes of the Women’s Resource Center.

"We are concerned society is in fact going backwards in terms of women’s equality and will keep tirelessly campaigning against this."