Zishou's "Mirror and Stand"

Zishou of Changsha was polishing a tile. A monk approached and asked, " What are you doing?" Zishou said, "Polishing it into a mirror." The monk said, "How can polishing a tile make a mirror?" Zishou replied, "How can sitting in meditation make a Buddha?"

Reflection

Zishou's 'Mirror and Stand' echoes Nanyue's tile-polishing koan. Polishing a tile cannot produce a mirror; sitting in meditation cannot produce a Buddha. The koan critiques the mistaken belief that formal practice alone, without insight into one's true nature, can produce enlightenment. Practice is not a cause that produces an effect called Buddha.