Five Hundred Arhats No.42 · The Venerable Who Offers Flowers and Receives a Prophecy | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.42 The Venerable Who Offers Flowers and Receives a Prophecy

'Hua' is a flower: to offer flowers is the sincerest of devotions, and the 'prophecy' (vyākaraṇa) is the Buddha's prediction of future buddhahood won through that merit. The venerable holds flowers in offering with a glad expression, showing the joy of receiving a prophecy through devout offering, cause and effect unfailing.

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