Reincarnation is the belief in what?

Reincarnation is understood as the belief that after death, the soul begins a new life in a different body. This concept suggests that the essence of an individual, including their personality and experiences, continues to exist beyond their physical form and transitions into a new existence. This cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is fundamental in various spiritual traditions, particularly within Hinduism and Buddhism, where it is linked to the ideas of karma and spiritual growth over successive lifetimes.

The concept distinctly contrasts with other ideas about life after death, such as the continuation of the body after death or resurrection, which involve the same physical form either continuing to exist or coming back to life as it was. Furthermore, the belief in existence on other planets relates to extraterrestrial life, which does not intersect with the philosophical or theological implications of reincarnation. Thus, the understanding of reincarnation focuses specifically on the journey of the soul into new physical forms, emphasizing a transformative process rather than a mere continuation or revival of the original body.