Five Hundred Arhats No.174 · The Venerable of Kindly Heart | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.174 The Venerable of Kindly Heart

'Kindly heart' means a wholly good mind that meets others with goodwill and no evil thought; the name marks one who keeps wholesome intent and is kind to all. The venerable looks benevolent and gentle of gaze, possessing the warmth of a heart set on good, meeting others with goodwill and transforming self and others through a soft, kind heart.

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