At this [*] humanist site we find a studied analysis
by Joseph McCabe on whether or not Buddha was an
atheist, which concludes: "The real authorities
agree that Buddha was an atheist."
From chapter one of the book "The Humanist Way"
(http://www.ethicalsociety.org/greatest.htm):
"Be ye lamps unto yoursleves. Work out your own
salvation," admonished the Buddha. ...Unlike the
monotheistic prophets and reformers...[ Buddha ]
put no stock in gods and saviours. Like the anci-
ent Roman poet Lucretius, gautama the Buddha be-
lieved that if the gods exist, they are of no con-
cern to us. If anything, speculations about the
gods distract us from what we must do to accomplish
our primary psychological and spiritual task of
self-mastery. The early followers of Buddha...take
great pains to prevent the elevation of their
Master [bad word] to the status of a divine being...
"If you meet the Buddha on the highway, kill him,"
goes a somewhat startling Buddhist proverb. But the
harsh maxim drives home a vital truth: No holy prophet,
messiah, christ, avatar, or even a great god in heaven
can do your spiritual or ethical task for you. Free
yourself. Be a lamp unto your own salvation!"
Albert Einstein on Buddhism:
"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would
be expected in a cosmic religion for the future:
it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and
theology; it covers both the natural & spiritual,
and it is based on a religious sense aspiring
from the experience of all things, natural
and spiritual, as a meaningful unity."
http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/index.htm
http://www.serve.com/cmtan/buddhism
[*] http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/joseph_mccabe/dictionary.html