Five Hundred Arhats No.32 · The Venerable Who Steadfastly Holds the Three-Syllable Essence | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.32 The Venerable Who Steadfastly Holds the Three-Syllable Essence

His name means to uphold the essential heart of the practice and keep it ever in mind, with unwavering conduct. The venerable forms a mudrā with both hands and a resolute expression, expressing the faith that holds the core teaching fast and never wavers.

Painted by Li Zongyi in the freehand Chinese ink (xieyi) tradition, the brushwork is fluent and the ink tones layered from dense to pale, capturing the arhat’s spirit in a few assured strokes. The blank paper itself breathes Zen; figure and spirit are one, blending monastic solemnity with the literati’s ease. Each of the Five Hundred Arhats bears its own name and practice, uniting faith, art and collectibility — an original, non-reproducible hand-painted work.

Size: approx. 100×50cm (4.5 square chi) | Traditional hand-painted Chinese ink Zen Buddhist figure painting | On paper