352 pages | Hardcover

For anyone interested in what happens after death, this is a definitive guide to the concept of rebirth, or reincarnation, in Buddhism.

Reincarnationhasbeenapopular beliefincultures throughout the world for many millennia. The possibility that we lived before and may be born again, whether as a human orinsome other form of existence, continues to fascinate us and features heavily in popular novels and movies, and also as a subjectofrecent scholarly studies.Although Buddhism is one of the religious traditions best known for asserting rebirth, the history and scope of Buddhist approaches to the idea has not received comprehensive treatmentuntil now.

This first-ever guide to ideas and practices surrounding rebirth in Buddhism covers the historical context for the Buddhas teachings on the topic, explains what Buddhists believe is actually reborn and where, surveys rebirth-related practices in multiple Buddhist cultures, and considers whether all Buddhist traditions agree about what happens after death. The book also addresses interpretations of rebirth in modern Buddhist contexts and recent scientific attempts to document reincarnation in conversation with Buddhist beliefs It is, in short, the first truly comprehensive overview of rebirth across the major Buddhist traditions, written by a leading scholar and teacher of Buddhism.