Five Hundred Arhats No.261 · The Venerable Mañju Practice | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.261 The Venerable Mañju Practice

In 'Mañju practice', Mañju is short for Mañjuśrī (the wisdom bodhisattva), and practice is the wondrous conduct cultivated, meaning the practice based on Mañjuśrī's great wisdom; the name marks one who raises wondrous conduct from Mañju's wisdom, wisdom and practice non-dual. The venerable has the air of a great being with a keen look, possessing the insight of acting on Mañju's wondrous wisdom, pure conduct, wisdom and practice one, guiding all deeds through root-wisdom.

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