Five Hundred Arhats No.83 · The Venerable of the Samādhi's Nectar | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.83 The Venerable of the Samādhi's Nectar

'Samādhi' is meditative absorption and 'nectar' translates amṛta, the deathless taste of the Dharma; the name marks one from whose deep meditation flows pure Dharma-joy that, like nectar, moistens the heart and washes away the fever of affliction. The venerable looks serene as if tasting the Dharma, showing the cool ease of absorption in which the body-mind is refreshed and the burning thirst of defilement is stilled at once.

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