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Buddhism centers on Enlightenment, which is a pure and blissful state of consciousness achieved through wisdom, meditation and morality. The fundamental assumption is that enlightenment is possible for all of us. Buddhists have faith that this is so because of the example of the Buddha, who lived about 5 centuries before Christ. He achieved enlightenment through his own efforts, without divine intervention or grace. Furthermore, he rejected blind faith and dogma and emphasized wisdom, in which one knows the truth directly by purifying consciousness. This is to be contrasted with religions of Middle Eastern origin, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, where faith, revelation and dogma play a fundamental role. Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism. Hinduism contains both revelation (as in the avatar Krishna) as well as the wisdom in which one knows directly the truth of one's own sacred consciousness and being. Since Buddhism is essentially Hinduism with the revelation and mythology stripped out, it is highly suitable for modern 'intellectuals' and non-Hindus in general. Einstein spoke very approvingly of it! The original Buddhism emphasized meditation and morality and remained silent on God, but the later Mahayana Buddhism saw the reintroduction of metaphysics and concepts similar to the Divine Consciousness or Brahman of the Hindus, though this was now identified with the Buddha. Hinduism and Buddhism both believe in reincarnation and karma, in which one's future life is determined by present actions, but in general the emphasis is on achieving wisdom rather than fearing divine retribution. This appeals to the humanist in me!
Scriptures
Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 Lines: A 're-vision' of the seminal Mahayana text by Richard Babcock
The Lankavatara Sutra: The classic Mahayana text on the doctrine of 'Mind Only'
Long Articles
Basic Buddhism: The original doctrine of the Buddha (before the Mahayana elaboration)
Emptiness: The key Mahayana concept (but not really a concept!)
Avatamsaka Sutra: (or Hua Yen Sutra or Flower Ornament Sutra): a mind-boggling vision of the mystical experience
Short Articles
Idealism in the Lankavatara Excerpts from the 'foundational sutra of Zen' indicate nondual idealism
Divinity in the Avatamsaka An important Mahayana scripture gives the Buddha a cosmic dimension