Five Hundred Arhats No.360 · The Venerable True Merit | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.360 The Venerable True Merit

'True merit' means the merit cultivated is real and not vain, produced by a pure heart, possessed of both merit and wisdom, true rather than the leaking fruit of gods and men; the name marks one whose merit is real, pure and free of outflow. The venerable looks substantial and genuine, possessing the authenticity of true merit, pure without outflow, both merit and wisdom, moving to bodhi through real, outflow-free merit.

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