Five Hundred Arhats No.337 · The Venerable Marks of Merit | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.337 The Venerable Marks of Merit

'Marks of merit' means adorning one's bodily marks with merit, the marks and features perfected through the two adornments of merit and wisdom; as merit deepens, the marks grow bright; the name marks one adorned with merit, possessed of wondrous marks. The venerable bears dignified features with a kind, solemn look, possessing the gracious gravity of merit-adornment, the two adornments, bright marks and features, a pure bodily form achieved through merit.

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