[turbutbamethyg]

first,not all buddhists or hindus believe in reincarnation.and not all of them believe were are reincarnated as lower life forms(for lack of a better way to put it),but have already experienced this form and learned all that was needed to progress.this is not just a"western view".

second,the words soul,spirit, or universal conscious are used interchangably,wether correctly or not.words are just symbols to define an idea.

correct me if i'm wrong,but the summiran slaves believed in the concept,along with their pantheon of dietys.

while all the posters have provided very good information,they also appear to be saying the same thing,just more complex than the others.

my understanding of reincarnation and rebirth are that niether is the same.to be reincarnated is to return in a different form.to be reborn is to return as a human,with the knowledge of your past life(however vauge that may be)to relive and learn from your mistakes(which people believe about reincarnation).while i do believe in reincarnation,and the need to learn what is needed to progress,i also believe in rebirth.great,i just confused myself.ok,i don't believe i'll be reincarnated as a worm or something,but in some form of a human.