Over two thousand and five hundred years ago, the Lord Buddha taught about the process of continued existence from his own direct knowledge. There are three kinds of existence:
Buddhists believe in life after death, and this is an important motivation for them to be careful about their actions, speech, and thoughts in this life. Whatever we do with intention is called kamma, which has impetus leading to results (vipāka). When people talk loosely about kamma in the sense of 'fate' they are referring to vipāka, which is the result of kamma, not kamma itself. To understand why and how rebirth takes place, we need to understand about the law of kamma. It is a natural law, not unlike Newton's third law of motion to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. However, the law of kamma operates in the realm of morality, ethics, and psychology, though results often affect the physical realm too.
The Dhammapada
