[HexcewlyRette]

Re #5 -You will find that most Buddhists believe in rebirth but not of a 'soul' which is a Christian concept. Tibetan Buddhists believe in reincarnation which is slightly different.

There are also other Buddhists who don't believe in rebirth - and some like myself who are neutral about it and prefer to focus on the here and now in this lifetime.

This Beginners forum is for questions and answers relating to the core teachings of the Buddha rather than detailed tradition-specific questions, by the way. However I wouldn't worry too much about different traditions at the moment if you don't have any access to centres . Take your time. First find out what the Buddha actually taught.

Does everyone have their own story? Some members have posted about themselves in a thread in General Buddhist Discussions called "How did you come into contact with Buddhism ?" The link is below...

http://www.buddhismwithoutboundaries...-with-Buddhism