Reddit mentions of Buddhism Plain and Simple: The Practice of Being Aware, Right Now, Every Day

> Buddha will absolutely never let you down, hurt you, leave you.

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of Buddhism. I've been a practicing Buddhist for several years now, having converted from atheism.

You might be surprised by how different Buddhism is from other major religions. The Buddha was a teacher and that isn't even his given name. It simply means teacher. He was an ordinary human being, just like you and me. He lived and he died, just like everyone else. He never claimed to be a deity and never claimed to have supernatural powers. He was a regular, ordinary human. He just saw the world a little differently and taught that to others.

Buddhism is not a dogmatic belief system, it is much more of a practice. That oversimplifies it somewhat, but practice is key. You are supposed to question it and it's perfectly fine to take it for a test drive. Kick the tires, see what happens. You don't really learn anything until you experience it for yourself and the most others can do is point you in the right direction. It is not a "believe this OR ELSE" kind of thing. There is no conflict with science, either. Buddhism has a way of intersecting with science.

I initially bought Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen because I was curious. Here was this major religion I knew nothing about. I thought I'd get an understanding.

That I did, and plenty more. I initially tried meditation to see what would happen. It turned out to be a wonderful thing. I wondered what would happen if I tried practice. So I slowly did. And it was good. It took a couple of years to realize that this is what I am now.

If anyone is curious, /r/buddhism is a great resource. The sidebar has links to many free texts. The people there are supportive and welcoming to newcomers.

I never thought I'd be religious. But here I am.