Are the Buddhist worshipping Buddha instead of the living God?
Jesus is God.
Isaiah 44-19And no one considers in his heart,
Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned half of it in the fire,
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
I have roasted meat and eaten it;
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
The bible says-John 3:16-For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The Buddhists worship images of Buddia.Buddia was a man who lived a long time ago. They do not believe in the true living God of the Bible.They do not believe in Jesus.
Exodus 20-4“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
This is wrong as Jesus is the only way to the father. The bible said-John 14:6-Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Of course,the Buddhists could persecute those Christians who speak against their religion. But the bible says- Matthew 5-10-Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Start from finding out the meaning of the word "Buddha".

A Christian only understand to "worship", so you think all religions or Paths must "worship" something or someone?

I have seen where a Christian despised and downplayed Truth on the grounds that it is from "Philosophers"
...if only that guy knew the meaning of the word philosophy...

You seem to be after condemning another persons Path based on what you lifted from reading the writings of another man's path which your Path is mostly based on.