Reincarnation Defined
Reincarnation in Buddhism is different from other ideas of reincarnation found in other religions; Buddhists do not believe that when a person dies, they will be reborn as another creature other than a human. Rather, the Buddhist concept of reincarnation is that once a person dies, they will come back and be reborn as another person; for this reason, it is often referred to as 'rebirth' instead of 'reincarnation.' The new person will possess many of the same qualities as the old one, but won't be completely the same. In the painting above, a person ages and dies, and then is reborn as a new person; the cycle continues infinitely. Reincarnation is an essential principle of Buddhism, because it is believed that a person will have many lifetimes to reach their Enlightenment.