A third and distinctive image is of Jesus representing an ascetic figure – a prophet of the heart. Although the Quran refers to the 'gospel' of Jesus, those specific teachings of his are not mentioned in the Quran or later religious texts. They are largely absent. The Sufi tradition is where Jesus became revered, acknowledged as a spiritual teacher with a distinctive voice from other prophets, including Muhammad. Sufism tends to explore the dimensions of union with God through many approaches, including asceticism, poetry, philosophy, speculative suggestion, and mystical methods. Although Sufism to the Western mind may seem to share similar origins or elements of Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, and Buddhism, the ideology is distinctly Islamic since they adhere to the words of the Quran and pursue imitation of Muhammad as the perfect man.