> Would you characterize belief in rebirth as a central component of Buddhism?

I notice that "rebirth" isn't listed among the answers to, [What teachings do all schools of Buddhism share?](http://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/1487/254) ... so, to the extent that Buddhism has a centre, perhaps that belief isn't "central".

> How is this concept understood, i.e., what does rebirth mean (in as much detail as possible) to a Buddhist?

There were several good (long) answers to that in [this topic](http://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/3420/254).