Question: “Hey! Hoping you can help me, can you tell me more about what Buddhists believe with death and the afterlife? Thank you very much.”
Death sounds so morbid sometimes. Afterlife sounds like WE, this self that we know, will be some sort of ghost creature or something. Buddhists don’t believe in death. Dying and living is simply a transformation from one body to another, continuing the cycle of our consciousness until we are free (liberated) from the cycle of birth and death.
So an “afterlife” isn’t exactly OUR life again after we die, but a life of a different existence, which depending on your karma and merit will be reborn in one of the six realms of existence. Buddhists are some of the only people who aren’t afraid of dying, because we know it’s not really death, it’s simply a transformation from one body to another.
Death and rebirth is like a traveling business person going from one hotel to another. Each hotel represents a single lifetime, so this businessperson will continue traveling from hotel to hotel until his business trip is complete – until liberation is achieved.
Smile and be well!