Five Hundred Arhats No.181 · The Venerable Nāgārjuna | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.181 The Venerable Nāgārjuna

Nāgārjuna (Longshu, also rendered Longmeng) is the founder of the Mahāyāna Madhyamaka school, honored across traditions, who composed the Mūlamadhyamaka-kārikā expounding dependent arising and emptiness of nature; listed among the five hundred arhats, the name signifies profound prajñā, mighty as a great dragon. The venerable has the composed air of a great master; without inventing a separate legend, it conveys his deep wisdom of the middle way that refutes wrong views.

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