a hopeless task

a hopeless task

Steamed sand into rice, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is zh ē ngsh ā ch é NGF à n, meaning to steam sand into rice. It's impossible to succeed. It comes from the Sutra of Lengyan.

The origin of Idioms

"Leng Yan Jing" says, "if you continue to indulge in immorality, those who practice meditation are like steaming sand and stone to make a meal. After thousands of disasters, they are only named re Sha."

Idiom usage

As a predicate or attributive; of impossible things

Analysis of Idioms

Cooking sand and carving ice