Five Hundred Arhats No.164 · The Venerable Wisdom-Worker | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.164 The Venerable Wisdom-Worker

'Wisdom-worker' means to act through wisdom, every deed guided by insight rather than mere outward form; the name marks one who accomplishes the good of others through wisdom and means. The venerable gestures as if at work with a keen look, possessing the clear skill of acting under wisdom's guidance, accomplishing things well and directing every task through insight.

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