Five Hundred Arhats No.222 · The Venerable Sumeru Lamp | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.222 The Venerable Sumeru Lamp

'Sumeru lamp' is a lamp like the king of mountains, towering and shining everywhere—Sumeru is lord of all peaks and the lamp stands for wisdom; the name marks one whose wisdom-lamp stands high and lights every quarter. The venerable looks lofty with light in his eyes, possessing the breadth of a mountain-king's steadiness, a wisdom-lamp shining all around, exalted yet not proud, a light that beings can rely upon.

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