Five Hundred Arhats No.362 · The Venerable Joyful to Behold | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.362 The Venerable Joyful to Behold

'Joyful to behold' means gladly beholding beings with a joyful heart, feeling glad at the sight of all, gathering beings with a kind face and loving speech; the name marks one ever glad, gladly seeing every capacity. The venerable wears a smile with a delighted look, possessing the joy of gladly seeing others, kind face and loving speech, gathering beings with a glad heart, making beholders share the joy.

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