Five Hundred Arhats No.226 · The Venerable Padma | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.226 The Venerable Padma

Padma is the Sanskrit word for the red lotus that rises from the mud unstained, signifying purity beyond defilement; the name marks one who, like the red lotus, comes through the dust clean and unspotted. The venerable looks bright and pure with a fresh air, possessing the loftiness of a padma that rises from the mire unstained, pure beyond defilement, standing clear above the water of affliction.

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