Five Hundred Arhats No.397 · The Venerable Joy, Faith and Stillness | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.397 The Venerable Joy, Faith and Stillness

'Joy, faith and stillness' means gladness in the Dharma, fulfilled pure faith, the heart abiding in stillness: joy from pure faith, concentration from joy, wisdom from stillness, the three sustaining each other; the name marks one glad, faithful and still, faith, joy and concentration as causes. The venerable looks peaceful and still, possessing the quietude of gladness in Dharma, fulfilled pure faith, abiding stillness, concentration and wisdom arising through the mutual causation of joy, faith and stillness.

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