Five Hundred Arhats No.276 · The Venerable Endless Name | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.276 The Venerable Endless Name

'Endless name' means fame and virtue grow ever greater, infinite and without end, like Samantabhadra's vows reaching through all future time without exhaustion; the name marks one whose fame and virtue continue endlessly. The venerable looks far-reaching with a lingering presence, possessing the remoteness of endless name and virtue, ever increasing, continuing unbroken, dedicating endless merit back to all beings.

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