Just as in conventional life on Earth, there are a range of "afterlife" experiences.
Basically, there are six possible realms, three lower realms and three higher realms. The lower realms are the hell realm, the hungry ghost realm and the animal realm. The higher realms are the human realm, the jealous god realm and the god realm. All of these realms are subject to karma and rebirth in any of the other realms.
Nirvana, though, is not a realm, as such, but an unconditioned spiritual state that is beyond the six realms. One is no longer subject to karma. One has gone beyond karma. This is an inexpressible state which must be realized within oneself to be understood. This is our natural state of awareness once we have realized our original nature.
see link "Afterlife Buddhism"
It prepared them for the afterlife
In a word reincarnation, Buddhism teaches that we are continually reborn into circumstances that we have created.
A distinct teaching on the afterlife (Confucius didn't want to speculate on what happens after this life).
Buddhism doesn't teach about afterlife at all. Some Buddhists - but not all - believe in reincarnation, which says that each time a body dies, the person's soul returns to a new body until the person attains full spiritual understanding. . However, Buddhism doesn't teach reincarnation, either. . Buddhism does teach that people are to live with awareness, kindness, and generosity, that they should work hard and be thankful. The goal of Buddhism is to help people become more aware -- to wake up to eternal wisdom.
Yes. All five of those religions argue that the soul continues after the body perishes. It is worth noting that Hinduism and Buddhism also believe in reincarnation while Judaism, Christianity, and Islam do not.
To The Buddha or to Buddhism? For The Buddha, when he died, he passed out of the cycle of rebirth and therefore is gone forever. Whether he exists in some afterlife realm is unknown. As for Buddhism, his followers continued his teachings and created schools and monasteries which continue to this day. The Buddhas teachings still flourish and Buddhism is the 4th largest religion on Earth and is the fastest growing religion in some countries. The history of Buddhism can be found on websites like Wikipedia.
Non-religious spirituality is a personal belief system that focuses on inner connection, meaning, and purpose without adherence to organized religion. It often involves practices like meditation, mindfulness, and self-reflection to cultivate a deeper understanding of the self and the universe. This form of spirituality can be individualized and inclusive, drawing from various philosophies and traditions.
What is the afterlife
Theists generally believe some sort of afterlife awaits people when they die. Members of some generally non-theistic religions such as Buddhism, tend to believe in an afterlife, but without reference to a God. The Sadducees were an ancient Jewish sect that generally believed that there was a God but no afterlife. Many religions, whether they believe in the soul's existence in another world like Christianity, Islam and many pagan belief systems, or in reincarnation like many forms of Hinduism and Buddhism, believe that one's status in the afterlife is a reward or punishment for their conduct during life. Most atheists tend not to believe in life after death, while secular humanists explicitly reject the idea of a supernatural afterlife. Agnostics generally hold the position that, like the existence of a God, the existence of other metaphysical phenomena such as the existence of souls or life after death is not verifiable and therefore remains unknown or unknowable
Buddhism is structured into several different schools of thought. For instance, there is Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism, zen Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism, and Pure land Buddhism.
A synonym for afterlife is Heaven.