A frequent misunderstanding portrays Theravāda as a path reserved for monks and nuns, with laypeople relegated to a merely supportive role. In reality, the tradition has always included a robust lay dimension in which householders cultivate generosity, ethical conduct, and meditation, and may aspire to deep realization. The centrality of the monastic code does not negate the spiritual significance of lay practice; rather, it provides a framework within which the whole community participates in the path. Far from being a monolithic or uniform system, Theravāda has developed diverse expressions across different cultures, while maintaining a shared core of teachings and practices.

Another common misconception is that Theravāda is inherently pessimistic or even nihilistic, fixated on suffering and the supposed meaninglessness of life. The emphasis on dukkha is diagnostic rather than defeatist: suffering is carefully analyzed so that it can be understood and brought to an end. The path is oriented toward liberation, peace, and genuine happiness, not toward despair. Related to this is the charge of selfishness—that focusing on personal liberation must be morally narrow. Yet the cultivation of insight in Theravāda is inseparable from the cultivation of virtues such as loving-kindness, compassion, and generosity, so that inner transformation naturally expresses itself in concern for others and in social support within the community.

Theravāda is also sometimes caricatured as dry, hyper-intellectual, and hostile to ritual, devotion, or emotion. While it does value careful attention to scripture and disciplined meditation, Theravāda cultures are rich in devotional practices such as chanting, offerings, pilgrimage, and merit-making, all of which are understood as supports for the path. The tradition does not teach the suppression of emotion as an end in itself; rather, it encourages understanding and transforming emotional states so that wholesome qualities can flourish. Nor is it accurate to say that Theravāda is simply atheistic in a narrow sense; it is better described as non-theistic, placing the emphasis on personal practice and insight rather than on reliance upon deities, while still acknowledging a wider cosmos of beings within its traditional worldview.

Finally, there is a tendency to equate Theravāda either with a rigid legalism or with a single meditation technique, as though it were nothing more than an ancient rulebook or a modern “vipassanā method.” While ethical precepts and monastic discipline are indeed foundational, they are always oriented toward inner purification and direct realization of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and non-self. Classical Theravāda preserves a broad spectrum of meditative approaches, including both calming and insight practices, along with recollections and the cultivation of loving-kindness. The notion that this school has remained frozen since the time of the Buddha also fails to do justice to its history; it has preserved very early strata of teaching while continuously developing commentarial literature, scholastic analysis, and regionally distinctive forms of practice.