Some religions teach that we live only one lifetime, and when we die, we go permanently to some beautiful hereafter such as Heaven or some horrific eternal torture chamber known as hell. Buddhism s view of eternal life, however, posits that one s life or essence has no real beginning or end. We live many lifetimes, repeating the cycle of birth and death. Like going to sleep at night, we refresh our bodies and wake up anew. Buddhism explains that our lives possess an eternal and unchanging aspect.
Death then becomes the potential for life.
Everything we ve done until this moment adds up to who we are. This is the law of cause and effect. For every cause, there must be an effect. This is karma. We make myriad causes every day through our thoughts, words and deeds, and for each cause we receive an effect.