Chinese commentaries on the Lotus and other sūtras were produced in great numbers, especially during the fifth through tenth centuries. Through commentary, and other forms of interpretation as well, the sūtras were given innovative readings and made to speak to issues specific to the interpreter’s own time and place. Thus, a third aim of the current volume is to explore this living interface between text and commentary in Buddhism, using the Lotus as an exemplar.

Rather than taking on the impossible task of cataloging the long tradition of commentary on the Lotus Sūtra across Asia, we focus on the Japanese figure Nichiren (1222-1282), who stands among the greatest of the Lotus Sūtra interpreters.