Five Hundred Arhats No.335 · The Venerable Lamp of Bright Light | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.335 The Venerable Lamp of Bright Light

'Lamp of bright light' means taking the light of wisdom as a lamp, kindling the inexhaustible lamp, illumining self and others, lamp succeeding lamp without end; the name marks one who kindles the wisdom-lamp, its light unbroken. The venerable makes a lamp-kindling gesture with a bright look, possessing the clarity of kindling wisdom's lamp, illumining self and other, lamps in succession, breaking the dark of ignorance with the lamp of light.

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