Within the Theravāda tradition, the heart of Vinaya exegesis is the Samantapāsādikā, attributed to Buddhaghosa. This work is revered as the most comprehensive and authoritative commentary on the entire Vinaya Piṭaka, shaping how monastic discipline is understood and practiced. Alongside it stands Buddhaghosa’s Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī, a more focused commentary on the Pātimokkha, the core set of rules recited regularly by monks. Together, these two texts form a kind of twin lens through which the Theravāda monastic code is interpreted: one broad and encyclopedic, the other concentrated on the fundamental precepts themselves.

Beyond these, the tradition also preserves sub-commentarial works, or ṭīkās, which further clarify and refine the earlier commentaries. Texts such as the Sāratthadīpanī and the Sāratthamañjūsā expand on the explanations found in the Samantapāsādikā and Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī, probing difficult points and resolving interpretive doubts. In this way, the Vinaya literature becomes a layered conversation across generations, each commentator listening carefully to the previous voice and then speaking with greater precision. The result is not merely a legal code, but a living discipline illuminated by centuries of careful reflection.

Parallel to the Theravāda corpus, other Buddhist schools also developed rich commentarial traditions on their respective Vinayas, preserved mainly in Chinese and Tibetan translations. For communities following the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, works associated with masters such as Daoxuan, including the Sifen lü shanfan buque xingshi chao, serve as key guides to understanding and implementing the rules. In the Mūlasarvāstivāda lineage, influential figures such as Guṇaprabha composed foundational texts like the Vinaya-sūtra with its auto-commentary, which, together with later Tibetan exegesis, form the backbone of Vinaya study in Tibetan Buddhism. Across these traditions, the commentaries function as bridges between the ancient code and the lived reality of monastic life, ensuring that the discipline remains both faithful to its origins and responsive to the needs of practitioners.