What is Buddhism and what are the different schools in Buddhism?

I would like to know about original Buddhism and as well what the various Buddhist schools believe.|||I live in Asia and practiced Buddhism before.





Generally speaking, there are 2 kinds of Buddhism - Theistic and non-theistic.





In theory, Buddhism is atheistic but theistic Buddhism is very prevalent in many Asian countries. Buddhists in Asia treat Buddha as a deity and they pray and offer food and incense sacrifices to him. Buddhists in Asia also pray and ask Buddha for many things. However, Buddha is not a personal god to theistic Buddhists. He remains a distant god and being personal with Buddha is considered rude and disrespectful in Asia. Theistic Buddhism is widely practiced in Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and parts of China.





There are also Buddhists who practice non-theistic Buddhism, in the forms of meditation and following the Dharma (teachings). This form of Buddhism is more prevalent in Western societies.|||http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/





^That's the basic stuff of Buddhism. Buddhism has three main schools. In order of foundation they are Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Theravada is the original, and is atheistic and conservative. Mahayana is polytheistic and liberal, and Vajrayana is more or less esoteric Buddhism.





Theravada's views:


http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2001/06/鈥?/a>





Mahayana's views:


http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2001/06/鈥?/a>





Vajrayana's views and history:


http://www.religioustolerance.org/budvaj鈥?/a>