Li Er raised a hand to stroke his long beard and looked at Shakyamuni:
"Shakyamuni, you have endured a thousand years of ascetic practice, traversing the Western Ox Continent to reach Southern Jambudvipa, debating the Dao along the way, winning over living beings and gathering Buddhist momentum.
But this humble Daoist wishes to ask: does the path you follow deliver living beings, or rob them of their Dao hearts?"
Shakyamuni's gaze remained peaceful as he inclined his head:
"The Dao itself knows no contention. It is living beings who cling to delusion.
Only because their hearts harbor attachments can they be shattered.
Through the Buddhist Dharma, I enlighten them, wishing to free all living beings from suffering and grant them true freedom.
If their Dao hearts are firm, why fear debate?
If their Dao hearts are hollow, even if I do not break them, they will still be trapped by their own attachments."
Li Er shook his head.
"The Great Dao follows nature, and all things possess their own nature.
Plants wither and flourish of their own accord; rivers flow of their own accord. There is no need to force every plant into the same shape or every river toward the same destination.
You shatter others' Dao hearts through debate and forcefully draw living beings into your teachings. It appears to be deliverance, but in truth, you mold countless different hearts into a single shape.
All living beings possess their own vitality. Is this deliverance, or assimilation?"
Shakyamuni raised his eyes. A faint radiance slowly rose around him, and visions of the myriad sufferings of living beings appeared in the void.
"The sea of suffering churns throughout the world. Living beings sink within it, passing through cycle after cycle of reincarnation without release.
The Great Dao follows nature, yet it