Traces of his activities for the next twenty-five years were lost, the "Chuan Fabao Ji" (傳法寶紀) ("Annals of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure") claim that Shenxiu studied the Buddhist regulations (vinaya) and ceremonies and devoted himself to the practice of meditation (dhyāna) and the development of wisdom (prajñā). In 651 he began to study under Hongren. The aforementioned "Chuan Fabao Ji" states that he studied with Hongren for six years, thereby leaving in 657, before the arrival of the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng, with whom Shenxiu supposedly had the famous verse-writing contest. (see below)