Between Lives: The Bardo and the Immigration Visa Analogy

In Tibetan Buddhism, teachers often use vivid metaphors to help us understand profound teachings. One striking example compares the journey after death—through the bardo (intermediate state) and into rebirth—to the process of applying for and holding an immigration visa.

The Bardo as a Temporary Visa

When a person dies, their consciousness enters the bardo, the transitional state between death and rebirth. This period can last up to 49 days.

A lama once explained: “Think of the bardo as holding a short-term visa. You cannot stay forever—your visa will expire. When it does, you must enter a new country.”
In other words, no being can remain in the bardo permanently. The force of karma—our past actions—functions like the immigration office, deciding where we will be “sent” next.

Ghosts as Overstayed or Rejected Visas

What happens if one has no positive karma, no spiritual practice, or no guidance at death? It is like having your visa rejected or overstayed.

• Without the right conditions, consciousness cannot smoothly cross into a new birth.

• Instead, it may linger uneasily, becoming what we call a ghost—a being caught between worlds, lacking a secure “residency.”

Rebirth and the Visa Categories

Karma acts like an immigration authority, issuing different “visa types”:

• Good karma → rebirth as a human or god: a comfortable, though still temporary, visa.

• Heavy negative karma → rebirth in the lower realms: a painful and restrictive visa.

• Special blessings—through faith, mantra, or meditation practice—are like priority visas, allowing immediate entry into a Pure Land.

Pure Land as Permanent Residency

The greatest fortune is to receive what the teacher compared to a green card or permanent residency. Through devotion to Amitabha Buddha, the guidance of a master, or the practice of phowa (transference of consciousness), one can bypass the uncertainty of the bardo and directly “immigrate” to a Buddha’s Pure Land. There, practice continues without the fear of falling back into suffering.

The Lesson of the Analogy

Just as travelers prepare documents before crossing borders, practitioners prepare for death now, while alive. If we wait until the last moment, it may be too late.

The immigration metaphor reminds us:

• Life is impermanent, visas expire.

• The bardo is a transit zone, not a final destination.

• Only practice, merit, and devotion grant us the right kind of passage.

In the end, the teaching is simple: Don’t be caught without the right visa when the border of death arrives.

EVERESTARTSTUDIOS