The religious tolerance website discusses different religions and beliefs in detail. I used the site to find out about where Buddhist’s believe we go when we die. Buddhism is more than just a religion, it is a philosphy.
Buddhists believe in reincarnation, the concept that people are reborn after dying. They believe that individuals go through many cycles of birth, living, death, and rebirth. Buddhists differentiate between reincarnation and rebirth. Reincarnation is the belief that the soul comes back to earth in another body or form, while in rebirth, a person does not necessarily return to Earth as the same entity ever again (Robinson 1). Depending on how you lived your previous life and treated others before, you will be reincarnated to a suiting life. After many cycles of reincarnation, if someone reaches the state of mind where they are completely peaceful and in harmony with the world around them they can attain Nirvana. Nirvana is the name of the highest and purest state of mind that a man can ever reach. Nirvana means "to extinguish," as to pass into another realm of existence (Robinson 1). Some say that Nirvana can be attained before death and some say only after death. Buddhists believe that to reach Nirvana one must have knowledge of the four truths, practice the Noble Eightfold Path, knowledge of the dependent origination, realize the Anatta, realize the Anicca, and realize the Dukkha to achieve this state. They think that the task they really need to achieve is to live with love, for us, and for our brothers. The Buddha's Teaching shows that there are heavens and hells not only beyond this world, but in this very world itself. Heaven is a temporary place where those who have done good deeds experience more sensual pleasures for a longer period while hell is another temporary place where those evil doers experience more physical and mental suffering (Robinson 1). Each and every person experiences according to his good and bad karma.
I am very interested in the philosophical aspect of Buddhism and I do think that Buddhism is a good concept to live by, but I am not too certain that I believe it is possible to reincarnate without a higher being present.
Robinson, B.A.. "Buddhism's Core Beliefs." Religious Tolerance. 2008.
Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 27 Mar 2009.
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