1. First of all, by taking refuge in the Three Treasures -
Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, learn about the dharma teachings and
practise it. Everyone can become Buddha, and will become Buddha,
because our Buddha Nature is already wholly complete. We just need
to realise it, practise the Bodhisattva ways, and eventually we
will attain Buddhahood for sure.
2. It is not that everything is illusions, such a view may be a
little extreme. But rather, everything is LIKE an illusion. There's
a difference. Why? Because the Self is an illusion (see http://buddhism.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=157333),
Permanence is an illusion (no two moments are the same!). All
existence is conditioned - they do not have inherent existence and
therefore they are empty. Time is also an illusion, the past has
gone ['past' is PRESENT MEMORIES], the future has yet to come [just
a PRESENT expectation], and the present is ungraspable - the moment
you try to grasp on it, it's gone. When we conceptualise and make
mental constructs of 'things' and treat it as real, we lost the
essence. So it is not that the world is an illusion - it is US that
are illusioned.
All conditioned dharmas
[phenomena]
are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows,
like dew drops and a lightning flash:
contemplate them thus.
- Diamond Sutra
3. Buddha is not a god, although while he was still in Samsara (the
world of sufferings; the six realms of existences), he has been
reborned as gods for uncountable times. Just right before he was
borned in India, he was a teacher of the celestial beings in
Tushita heaven. When he was borned on Earth, Maitreya Bodhisattva
took over his place in Tushita heaven. Maitreya Buddha will be the
next Buddha to appear on Earth. In Buddhism rebirth in Heaven is
not ultimate because even celestial beings will have to pass away -
and possibly be reborned in lower realms according to their karma.
Only Nirvana is permanent - and to attain Nirvana a person must
become Liberated from Samsara. He was here on Earth because he saw
that the conditions for him to teach the sentient beings on Earth
was ripe, and many people will attain enlightenment under his
guide. Another reason is because the Earth realm is the best place
to practise - it's even better than the celestial realms because
the celestial realms are too joyful and therefore the celestial
beings are not concerned with sufferings or have any wish to be
liberated from Samsara. Enjoyment has served as a distraction from
spiritual development and liberation. Shakyamuni Buddha after
passing away is still teaching within the 'three thousand world
systems' in our universe until Maitreya Buddha takes over in the
future.
4. I don't know how many sutras, but there are really a lot.
Someone posted in the past and made a point that the length of all
sutras is 11 times the Christian bible. This is because Buddha
spent 49 years after his Enlightenment expounding the dharma
throughout India. All Sutras are spoken words of the Buddha, and
recited by 500 of his enlightened disciples after Buddha's passing.
Most of the sutras were remembered by Ananda, who was blessed with
photographic memory. You can in fact find many sutras in English
online. You can also find them in dharma centres and monasteries
