Five Hundred Arhats No.193 · The Venerable Fortunate Friend | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.193 The Venerable Fortunate Friend

'Fortunate friend' means a spiritual friend worthy of rejoicing, one who takes the wholesome as friend and gladdens self and others; the name marks one who draws near good friends and keeps company with the good. The venerable looks cheerful as if meeting a fine friend, possessing the glad harmony of friends supporting one another, rejoicing in the good and leading others to rejoice at hearing the true Dharma.

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