Would like an introduction to Buddhism?

[i2973693]

I'm currently an Atheist,
but i feel that Buddhism is the right path for me,
it just seems to work much better than any other "religion"
because nobody ever claimed to be a god, so i guess its not really a religion more of a philosophy.
I don't know a great deal about it but im really interested in learning.
I tried looking it up on the internet, but a lot of websites feel cold about it in the sence i'd like another person to explain things to me in a way that i can understand without a great deal of background knowlegde.
Thanks in advance~

 

[krazof]

It's basically all about finding enlightenment. We are all constantly reborn into different realms (some hell-like realms, some heaven-like realms, some in between) when we die, but being in the human realm is seen as the best one as it's the only one which gives a chance to escape the cycle of Samsara (suffering) and become enlightened (reach Nirvana). We want to escape because although in life there are good points and we can be happy temporarily, overall life is ultimately unsatisfying. There are 4 noble truths: there is suffering, suffering is caused by attachment/longing, there is a way to end suffering, and that way is by following the noble eightfold path (which I won't go into, but it basically states the morals such as don't steal etc.)

Hope this helps.

By the way, while the Buddha never claimed to be a god, there are references in the scriptures to deities and things like monks flying (or was it a Buddha?) etc.