Five Hundred Arhats No.212 · The Venerable Equal Heart | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.212 The Venerable Equal Heart

'Equal heart' means the heart abides in equality, raising no sense of high or low, kin or stranger toward any dharma or being—foe and friend equal, self and other one; the name marks one who views beings equally and extends impartial kindness. The venerable looks even with an all-around gaze, possessing the level heart of no hierarchy, equal compassion, viewing all alike without discrimination.

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