Five Hundred Arhats No.184 · The Venerable Loosener of Bonds | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.184 The Venerable Loosener of Bonds

'Loosening bonds' means to undo the fetters and cut the knots of affliction—the greed and hatred that bind body-mind; the name marks one skilled in releasing the fetters so the heart is liberated. The venerable makes a loosening gesture with a released expression, possessing the freedom of cutting bonds, scattering the knots, and letting the heart flow unobstructed.

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