Well, no. I don't think so. It is impossible to know what are the teachings of Buddha. There is a religion of Buddha, he was said to be an actual person. But, the roots of Hindu and Buddhist ritual are lost in the Ayran invasions through 2500 BCE.
It is a very superstitious. Full of Ghosts and Demons. And this is from the commonly called, Teachings of Buddha. I just grabbed one translation at random.
http://online.sfsu.edu/rone/Buddhism/footsteps.htm
Chapter 3
[SIZE=+1]THE WHEEL OF LIFE[/SIZE]
Buddhists do not believe that death is the end of life. When one dies, one's consciousness leaves and enters one of the six paths of rebirth.
- Asuras are beings who have many good things in life, but still like to fight. They appear in the heavens or on earth as people or animals.
- Hungry ghosts are beings who suffer from constant hunger.
These are the six states on the wheel of life. At the top are the heavens, where everyone is happy. Below are the hells where the suffering is unbearable. Beings can rise or fall from one path to another. If one does good deeds, one will be born into the paths of gods, humans, or
asuras. If one does evil deeds, one will be born into the paths of animals,
hungry ghosts, or
hell-beings. From one life to the next one can suddenly change from an human to an animal or from a ghost to a hell-being, according to the things one has done.
Much has been said, like in Christianity. I'm surprised to hear you say it that way, but I realize it is the European/American version only.
Himself is said to have utter this. So, he was not proposing religion, but that's also the excuse the followers of Jesus use.
"There have been many Buddhas before me and will be many Buddhas in the future," The Buddha recalled to his disciples. "All living beings have the Buddha nature and can become Buddhas."
I don't really see a historical basis for any of the big 3 from Asia. Lau Tsu, Krishna, or Buddha. (all glory too, to the highest praise)
It seems the most godly thing is to say, "I'm not GOD!" Many of the older stories of The Buddha, have him praying for guidance to Vishnu. (the father in the immaculate conception...in his elephant visage.)
That was before the West turned it into No God, not religion and so liberals can have that.
And really much of the world looks at it like this.
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/Buddha_is_Visnu.html
The fact that the earliest Buddhist texts, such as the Pali Jatakas, mention Buddha's birth as King Rama, Kapila, Janaka, is called "Mahapurusha" and Purushottama and Narasiha shows that Buddha is none other than Vishnu himself.