Five Hundred Arhats No.420 · The Venerable Upholding the World | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.420 The Venerable Upholding the World

'Upholding the world' means bearing and protecting the world, sustaining it through great compassion, keeping the lineage of the three jewels unbroken, serving as the world's refuge, guarding beings; the name marks one able to sustain the world, its refuge. The venerable makes a bearing gesture with a weighty look, possessing the gravity of protecting the world, sustaining without break, refuge of the world, bearing beings through great compassion.

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