For the last five years of his life, Shenxiu traveled between the two capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an, preaching the Buddhist Dharma before passing away at his monastery, "Tumen Si", reportedly sitting in meditation, on February 28, 706. The "Lengqie Shi Zi Ji" (楞伽師資記)("Records of the Lankavatara Masters") state that his last words were "ch’u-ch’u chiao", which Professor Seizan Yanagida translates as “the teachings of the expedient means have been made direct” The reigning Emperor Zhongzong (705-710) granted the posthumous title "Datong Chanshi"(大通禪師) (Greatly Penetrating Dhyāna Master), only the second time in Chinese Buddhism and the first for three hundred years that this imperial honour had been bestowed.