Five Hundred Arhats No.382 · The Venerable Self-Illumined | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.382 The Venerable Self-Illumined

'Self-illumined' means illuminating one's own mind, turning the light inward, the innate clear awareness shining forth without seeking outside, knowing one's own mind and seeing one's own nature; the name marks one who illumines within, whose innate awareness is manifest. The venerable makes an inward-contemplation gesture with a lucid look, possessing the clarity of turning light upon oneself, knowing one's own mind, seeking nothing outside, seeing one's nature with innate-awareness 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