Buddhism-Afterlife

Overview
For Buddhists death is more of a transition from one life to the rebirth of another, and this belief is called reincarnation. Buddhists follow the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth in hopes of reaching a point in which they have followed the Buddhist teachings with such great intentions that they have broken free from this cycle of endless suffering, known as Samsara. When someone dies their life is judged and accordingly they are reborn into a new form. The quality of a person’s new life is commonly a reflection of the persons karma or quality of life in their past life.

Samsara
Buddhists follow the belief that once a person has died their soul is reborn into a new body or form. Because Buddhists believe that all life is suffering, the cycle of Samsara is a cycle of endless suffering. The goal of the Buddhists is to break through Samsara by following a path known as the Eightfold Path.

Eightfold Path
The Buddhists believe that if you follow this path you will be free from suffering and break through Samsara.

Liberation From Samsara
In Buddhism when a soul is able to break Samsara by following the Eightfold Path and finding the middle way, they have reached Enlightenment. From here they may continue on to Nirvana, the highest destiny for man. This can be considered the actual afterlife for the Buddhist faith; in that finally the soul is free from Samsara and moves on. Comparison of Hinduism and Buddhism Ellwood, Robert S.. "Afterlife in World Religions."The Encyclopedia of World Religions. 1st ed. 1998. Lewis, James R.. Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1994.