Five Hundred Arhats No.252 · The Venerable Cause and Fruit | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.252 The Venerable Cause and Fruit

'Cause and fruit' is the causal mind and the fruit-stage awakening: the first aspiration as cause, final buddhahood as fruit, the cause embracing the sea of fruit and the fruit reaching back to the source of cause; the name marks one who understands cause and effect and completes practice from cause to fruit. The venerable looks earnest with cause and effect clear, possessing the solidity of knowing cause and fruit, winning fruit through cause, the causal mind round and fruit-awaking full.

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