So buddhism is a 'way', and there are lots of forms of it.  And you find the way that suits you the best.  No way is better than another.  There are short path, long path, hinayana, mahayana...  there are many aspects to it. But the central point of all buddhism is not the aspects, not the etiquette, not the books that have been written about it, but the practice of meditation.  If you meditate, you're a buddhist.  Meditation is silencing the mind; making the mind still.    

 

Your thoughts are like a curtain that separate you from reality. When they stop, suddenly you can see eternity.  The longer you can stop your thought, the deeper is your vision and your mystical experience, the deeper your journey into realities, into higher planes of consciousness and knowledge.

 

- "Buddhism", The Enlightenment Cycle