Linji Chan School's Four Discernments

Depriving the person but not the objective realm, depriving the objective realm but not the person, depriving both the person and the objective realm, and depriving neither the person nor the objective realm. "Deprive" means to strip away, peel off, eliminate, remove, or eradicate; "person" refers to the subjective self, which is the consciousness capable of grasping; "objective realm" refers to the dust-like objects that are grasped. The meaning of these three words summarizes that in the process of Zen meditation, one must strip away and eliminate both the grasper and the grasped, gradually eradicating the self-view based on the five aggregates. The presence of self-view is an obstruction, a hindrance; it obstructs the opening of the wisdom-eye, causing one to see only the person and the objective realm, failing to perceive the true mind.

Although ordinary sentient beings all possess self-view, during the course of cultivation, the emphasis of self-view differs. Some lean toward the subjective grasper, clinging to consciousness; others lean toward the objective grasped, clinging to the objective realm; while some cling to both. Due to the presence of self-view and self-attachment, the mind is not empty, and Zen meditation yields no results. At this point, a discerning Zen master is needed to seize the opportunity to teach, confronting the student to force emptiness, depriving them of the grasper and grasped they cling to, removing the obstruction over their eyes, and purifying their Dharma-eye. These are the first three kinds of selection. Zen practitioners who have attained a purified Dharma-eye find both the person and the objective realm empty, landing in emptiness. To realize the ultimate reality on the path beyond, the Zen master again seizes the opportunity to teach, enabling the student to turn around from the state of emptiness and realize the existence within both the person and the objective realm. Thus, just as a new village appears beyond the willows and flowers, the state of mind shifts, and the great matter is preliminarily resolved. The fourth kind of selection accomplishes the Mahayana path of insight, opening the way upward. Therefore, without eradicating self-view, one cannot attain enlightenment.