Five Hundred Arhats No.169 · The Venerable Contemplator of the Body | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.169 The Venerable Contemplator of the Body

Contemplating the body is the first of the four establishments of mindfulness—seeing the body as impure, abiding in right mindfulness by observing it, knowing it is a mere composite of the five aggregates, free of clinging; the name marks one who cultivates the body-foundation and sees it as it is. The venerable turns awareness inward with a still expression, possessing the clear awareness of seeing the body as impure, letting go of bodily clinging, and moving toward liberation through the body-foundation.

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