Within the Buddhist tradition, reflection on the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra has unfolded through a line of translators and exegetes whose work effectively functions as commentary, even when not cast in the form of a formal sub-commentary. In the Indian and early East Asian transmission, figures such as Guṇabhadra, Bodhiruci, and Śikṣānanda stand out. Their Chinese translations, accompanied by interpretive choices and clarificatory remarks, shaped how the text’s teachings on consciousness and Buddha-nature were received and systematized. These renderings became the lenses through which later Yogācāra and East Asian schools approached the sūtra.

Within the Chinese tradition, Yogācāra-oriented exegetes such as Fayun and Huikai are remembered for integrating the Laṅkāvatāra’s doctrines into broader scholastic currents. Their work helped situate the sūtra alongside related texts, especially those associated with tathāgatagarbha thought, and thus framed it as a key witness to Buddha-nature teaching. Kuiji, as a leading Yogācāra authority, further cited and doctrinally positioned the Laṅkāvatāra, so that even when not producing a line-by-line commentary, his analyses functioned as a powerful guide to its interpretation.

Chan and Zen circles received the Laṅkāvatāra in a more experiential and practice-oriented mode, yet their engagement also serves as a kind of living commentary. Bodhidharma came to be associated symbolically with this text, and early Chan masters drew upon its themes of mind-only and Buddha-nature in sermons and dialogues. In this way, the Chan tradition itself may be seen as an interpretive field in which the sūtra’s insights were tested, embodied, and transmitted, rather than merely expounded in scholastic fashion.

In more recent times, D. T. Suzuki played a pivotal role in bringing the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra into wider intellectual and spiritual circulation. Through translation and extensive study, Suzuki highlighted its importance for understanding both Yogācāra philosophy and the inner spirit of Chan/Zen. His work, though modern, stands in continuity with the older commentarial heritage: it does not replace the classical voices, but rather gathers their strands and presents them in a form accessible to contemporary seekers, allowing the sūtra’s vision of consciousness and Buddha-nature to continue to resonate.