Five Hundred Arhats No.479 · The Venerable Awakening to the Eternal Truth | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.479 The Venerable Awakening to the Eternal Truth

'Awakening to the eternal truth' means awakening to the principle of true permanence, comprehending the abiding suchness, realizing the unborn, unceasing reality of all dharmas, awakening to the eternal truth; the name marks one who awakens to the eternal, realizing the unborn. The venerable makes an entering-awakening gesture with a steadfast look, possessing the steadiness of awakening to eternal truth, comprehending suchness, realizing the unborn, awakening to the nature of true permanence.

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