Portrait of Daruma

Fūgai Ekun

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Daruma (Sanskrit: Bodhidharma) is the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism, who, according to legend, sat in continuous meditation for nine years in a cave in northern China. Following the medieval tradition of monochromatic depictions of Daruma, the Sōtō sect Zen master Fūgai Ekun created numerous minimalist, powerful paintings such as this. The extensive blank space both accommodates an inscription and suggests a metaphysical state of nothingness.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art