What, if anything, happens to people when they die?
We don’t know. And for the most part, Buddhists do not care.
There is a famous story about when the historical Buddha was asked about this. The story goes on something like this: If you were shot by a poison arrow, would you have to know who shot you, what tribe the shooter was from, what kind of bow was used, what kind of poison was used? No. You would first remove the poison arrow and then treat the wound. There is an immediate problem, right now, and we have to deal with it, and not worry about how long I have to live before the poison kills me.
We only have this life, this moment— where we came from and where we are going are not important, and not worth the energy.
Gassho (with palms together), Rev. Ron