Five Hundred Arhats No.161 · The Venerable Who Penetrates the World | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.161 The Venerable Who Penetrates the World

'Penetrating the world' means to understand both the worldly and the transworldly, softening one's light to mingle with the dust yet unstained—dwelling in the world while the heart always transcends it; the name marks one for whom worldly and transworldly are harmoniously one. The venerable looks approachable and at peace with others, possessing the harmony that understands worldly ways, mingles without stain, and realizes transworldly liberation without leaving the world.

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