Five Hundred Arhats No.398 · The Venerable Mahānanda | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.398 The Venerable Mahānanda

Mahā is Sanskrit for 'great' and the latter element is close to nanda, 'joy', together Mahānanda, 'great joy'; it means ever abiding in the joy of the great Dharma, immeasurably glad. Listed among the five hundred arhats, the name signifies great joy, feeding on Dharma-joy. The venerable appears as an Indian monk with a glad look; the title is kept objectively without invented deeds, conveying only his receiving the great Dharma and ever abiding in Dharma-joy.

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