I'm Buddhist, converted about seven years ago after growing up Catholic and spending a long time looking at other religions and trying to find one that fit me.

It's not so much that I follow Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama the man, as I follow the philosophies he espoused. And not all Buddha statues are of Siddhartha, some are supposed to represent bodhisattvas, which I suppose could relate sort of to Christian saints. They're people who have achieved nirvana, but had so much compassion for other people that they came back to this realm to share their knowledge and compassion. A common one of these is the bald, fat, laughing buddha statue that you'll see sometimes. He actually represents an ancient monk, but I won't go too much into his story cause that's not what you asked for :D

As to why Buddhists "use" the statues, it's a part of a shrine, and it is out of respect that they are there. A shrine usually consists of something to represent the dharma and something to represent the sangha. It can be as simple as a stone and a leaf, but many people have a Buddha statue to represent sangha. Some beautiful Buddha statues contain relics of great teachers and monks, as well. It is for meditation, for reminding us to follow the example that he set. Bowing to the statue shows respect and humility, which are essential traits in achieving the full eightfold path.

So, the idea behind the religion... it's hard to put it succinctly, but I'll try. I understand why you ask - many people ask me about it because Buddhists don't prosthetyze generally, it's not considered proper. That's not my intent here, and it's taken me some time to realize there's a difference between practicing dharma and prosthetyzing. I'm still a little tentative.

So, there's the four noble truths. These are that life is suffering, all suffering comes from our attachments, you can end your suffering, and the path to ending your suffering is to follow the eightfold path.

I would personally describe the eightfold path as similar to the ten commandments of christianity, but with more grey area. It's the black and white of most religions that I couldn't get in line with - for example, is lying always wrong, even if it spares pain? I don't think so. What if you're lying to protect someone? So, the idea is to follow the eightfold path in the way the causes the least suffering in the world for both others and yourself.

1. Right View - seeing things as they really are, not deluding yourself, not looking at how things were or might be, but being aware in particular of the four noble truths and the path.

2. Right Intention - I know they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but this is important. The thought behind how we act does matter, it matters in how things move inside of us, in the changes that our thoughts create in our minds. Right intention means good will, acting to ease suffering and with compassion.

3. Right Speech - Words matter. What is said can't be unsaid, so speak from a place that harms neither others nor yourself.

4. Right Action - Actions matter as much as words, again act from a place that harms neither others nor yourself.

5. Right Livelihood - This can be a tricky one. Buddhists aren't expected to take vows of poverty by any means - for example Richard Gere is quite a wealthy and devoted Buddhist. What it does mean is that your work should not be anything that could bring suffering to others. In other words, don't be paid for repossessing someone's belongings, or hurting someone, or lying to people, things of that nature. I had a struggle with this one, and redirected my career because of it at one point.

6. Right Effort - This sounds like Right Action in some ways but it's subtly different. This is about states of mind rather than specific action, and is about refraining from "unwholesome" states of mind. That can be anything from thinking about extramarital sex to hurting someone. It also sounds like thought, but it's more about your inner demons than anything else.

7. Right Mindfulness - This is about awareness, being in your body and in the moment. You should be experiencing everything in your life, not letting yourself be distracted by desires, wishes, thoughts of the future, etc. If you are celebrating a holiday with your family, be THERE, and not thinking about whether you should have used the ecru napkins or whether Uncle Bert is not there because he's mad at you or whether your mother in law is judging the cleanliness of your bathroom. Instead, experience every part of the moment with your full consciousness; the smells, sounds, textures, tastes, interactions, conversations, everything!

8. Right Concentration - Practicing sitting, meditation and strengthening concentration

There are precepts which are taken by Buddhists, which sometimes are compared to the ten commandments, but I think of them more as vows. They are simply to refrain from harming another being, taking things that aren't freely given, sexual misconduct, and false speech. They are basically covered in the eightfold path, but are more seriously taken as a vow to yourself. There are many many many written interpretations of these precepts from over the last twenty centuries or so, but it's easiest to say that they are full of grey areas.

If you have to boil it down to something simple, it's about living with compassion, emptiness, mindfulness and harmony with the world.