Five Hundred Arhats No.440 · The Venerable Diligence and Eloquence | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.440 The Venerable Diligence and Eloquence

'Diligence and eloquence' means diligent with unhindered eloquence, bold in cultivating the true Dharma, unhindered in speech, attaining the four kinds of unhindered eloquence through diligence; the name marks one bold in diligence, unhindered in eloquence. The venerable makes a debating gesture with a vigorous look, possessing the energy of bold diligence, unhindered eloquence, devoted cultivation, proclaiming endlessly through diligent eloquence.

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