Question: “I like the fact that you’re helping people with the ego by answering questions, but I’ll just stick with Nietzsche, Diogenes, and Epicures. Buddhism is too much of a religion by having buddhas that go to different “realms” and reincarnate to other realms and such. This kind of stuff requires faith, and that’s the reason why I left Christianity, so no thanks.”
I think you might have been a little misinformed, or reading the wrong information. There’s nothing faith-based in Buddhism (Except for Pure Land Buddhism). The only faith in Buddhism is faith in yourself. Buddhism is more of a psychology than it is a religion. It’s a self-help, get-out-of-jail kind of deal; jail being samsara.
You might read or hear these stories of Buddhas going from “realm to realm” and read into these elaborate and fantasy stories and they might seem fictional. To a beginner (less than five-ish years of study) these stories seem impossible. To a serious practitioner, these elaborate stories that don’t make sense will make all the sense in the world. In the Lotus Sutra especially are stories of floating towers, millions of Buddhas visiting Sakyamuni, and a phantom city created by the power of the Buddha – are these literal? Of course not! These are simply a different way to teach people about their potential in achieving Buddhahood and how the world will seem so beautiful and clear when liberated.
Sutra study is not for the beginner (under 3-5 years of study). Beginners need to stick with the basics for many years first. Once all the basics are covered, then one can go into sutra study by reading multiple sutras and finding one that “clicks” with them and sticking to it for the next several years. Monks and nuns often specialize in one sutra (in my case at my temple, it’s the Lotus Sutra) and constantly read it for the rest of their lives (while also having to read other sturas on the side to be able to teach comprehensively).
Buddha said, “Out of respect, do not believe me because I am the Buddha; believe me because you have conducted your own experiments with my teachings and they have worked for you.” So there is no faith-based aspect of Buddhism besides faith in yourself and in your ability to attain liberation.
Smile and be well!