Five Hundred Arhats No.147 · The Venerable Upholder of the World | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.147 The Venerable Upholder of the World

'Upholder of the world' means to safeguard the world so wholesome roots do not break, echoing the bodhisattva Lokendra's vow to protect the world and sustain life; the name marks one who sustains the world through the Dharma for the good of all beings. The venerable makes a protecting gesture with a compassionate look, possessing the charge and tender care of bearing the world, watching over beings and moistening human life with the Dharma.

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