Five Hundred Arhats No.218 · The Venerable Bakkula | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.218 The Venerable Bakkula

Bakkula (also Vakkula) was a disciple in the Buddha's time famed for longevity, freedom from illness, few desires and contentment; listed among the five hundred arhats, the name signifies pure discipline and long blessing and life. The venerable looks vigorous, hale in old age; the name is kept objectively, conveying only the peace of few desires and long life, pure discipline, and well-being of body and mind.

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