In meditation practice, Shenxiu taught that the student should develop the innate ability of the mind “to illuminate and understand all things” and to see the emptiness of all things. He taught that there is a profound stillness and tranquility in all things. A “Northern School” text abbreviated as the "Five Skillful Means" ("Wu Fangbian" 五方便) states: “in purity there is not a single thing…Peaceful and vast without limit, its untaintedness is the path of "bodhi" (बोधि). The mind serene and enlightenment distinct, the body’s serenity is the "bodhi" tree.”