Five Hundred Arhats No.326 · The Venerable Sovereign of Freedom | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.326 The Venerable Sovereign of Freedom

'Sovereign of freedom' means attaining great sovereignty over all dharmas, foremost therein, advancing and retreating without obstruction, playing in superknowledges without being bound; the name marks one sovereign in the Dharma, a king of freedom. The venerable looks free and expansive, possessing the openness of sovereignty in the Dharma, unobstructed action, free as a king, converting through the play of great mastery.

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