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Definition: reincarnation from Collins English Dictionary

n

1 the belief that on the death of the body the soul transmigrates to or is born again in another body

2 the incarnation or embodiment of a soul in a new body after it has left the old one at physical death

3 embodiment again in a new form, as of a principle or idea

› ˌreincarˈnationist n, adj


reincarnation

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Belief that after death the human soul or the spirit of a plant or animal may live again in another human or animal. It is part of the teachings of many religions and philosophies; for example, ancient Egyptian and Greek (the philosophies of Pythagoras and Plato), Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, certain Christian heresies (such as the Cathars), and theosophy. Hinduism Reincarnation is the belief that an individual soul, or jiva, comes into the world and makes its way from a lowly condition to the very highest, that of liberation ( moksha ). In the Indian view, the soul is no more dependent on its body than the body is on the clothes it wears or the house it lives in. The growth of the soul up to the human stage is automatic, but with entry into a human body it attains self-consciousness and its growth takes a different form, involving free will, responsibility, and effort. When the jiva first enters a human body, it wants only the sensual pleasures of its new circumstances, and…
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Full text Article reincarnation

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
The rebirth of a spirit, or soul, to live a new life within a new physical body. Reincarnation (literally ‘being made flesh again’) is a central tenet of many religions and philosophical systems, including Hinduism, spiritism , theosophy and scientology . It has appeared among the religious beliefs…
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Full text Article reincarnation

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Catholicism
Sanskrit: samsara ; Greek: metempsychosis , “transmigration of the soul to another body.” Reincarnation is the belief, integral to various religious traditions, that the human soul survives death and eventually again incarnates in another human body. In the West, the idea first appeared among…
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Full text Article REINCARNATION

From Global Dictionary of Theology
Reincarnation (“to come again in the flesh”) is the doctrine that the soul or spirit passes through a (often long) chain of life and death before it attains * salvation . Literary evidences indicate that this doctrine was first developed in the * Hindu religious traditions in India between 1500 and…
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Full text Article reincarnation

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Belief that after death the human soul or the spirit of a plant or animal may live again in another human or animal. It is part of the teachings of many religions and philosophies; for example, ancient Egyptian and Greek (the philosophies of Pythagoras and Plato), Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, …
| 429 words
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Full text Article reincarnation/rebirth

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Also known as: transmigration The Indian belief in the “cycle of lives” has ancient origin. Souls are believed to cycle through human or animal lives until they are liberated and merge with a higher reality. On rare occasions the tradition refers to reincarnation into a plant or stationary object. …
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Full text Article reincarnation

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Doctrine of the rebirth of the soul in one or more successive existences, which may be human, animal, or vegetable. Belief in reincarnation is characteristic of Asian religions, especially Hinduism , Jainism , Buddhism , and Sikhism . All hold to the doctrine of karma , the belief that actions in…
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Full text Article REINCARNATION

From The Essentials of Philosophy and Ethics
Reincarnation is life after DEATH , but unlike the Christian version, it is a completely new life, with a new body and new MIND . It might even be as a new species – or as a rock. The idea is important in both ancient Greek thought and in the Eastern, especially Indian tradition, but for today’s…
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Full text Article reincarnation in Judaism

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Judaism
The concept of reincarnation is not mentioned in either the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, or the Talmud. The topic is not often discussed within the circles of Normative Judaism. However, Saadia Gaon wrote in the ninth century that he had met Jews who believed that a dead person's soul may indeed move…
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Full text Article reincarnation

From The Macquarie Dictionary
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Full text Article reincarnation

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
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