The Broken Buddha: Critical Reflections on Theravada and a Plea for a New Buddhism

The book begins with the author’s personal experience as a monk in the Theravāda tradition and his growing dissatisfaction with institutional Theravāda. Dhammika explains that his concern is not simply with corruption or individual failure, but with structural patterns within the tradition itself. He examines the meaning of “Theravāda,” arguing that it is not identical with the Buddha’s teaching, but a particular historical interpretation of selected parts of the Pāli Tipiṭaka. The text then critiques several major areas: the relationship between monks and lay people, the dominance of Vinaya formalism, the limited role given to lay practitioners, the lack of serious engagement with meditation in some historical contexts, the tendency toward rigid traditionalism, and the difficulty of adapting Theravāda to modern societies. Throughout the work, Dhammika contrasts what he sees as the living spirit of the Buddha’s Dhamma with the institutional habits that have developed around it. The book concludes as a plea for a more open, practical, compassionate, and reform-oriented Buddhism.