Five Hundred Arhats No.294 · The Venerable Who Tames the Dragon King | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.294 The Venerable Who Tames the Dragon King

'Who tames the dragon king' means converting and subduing the nāga king through the power of true Dharma, making him abandon pride and take refuge in the three jewels; great as the nāga's power is, it is ultimately tamed by the Buddha's teaching; the name marks one who subdues nāgas through Dharma, sovereign in spiritual power. The venerable makes a pressing or gathering gesture with a calm look, possessing the steadiness of taming nāgas through Dharma, converting their pride, leading them to the true path, subduing the stubborn through the power of 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