I heard there is a Border Land. Is this a part of the Pure Land? What are some of the reasons that someone might go there?
Yes, there is a Border Land in most traditional Pure Land Buddhist schools/ sects. It refers to someone who dies and is not yet determined to enter the Pure Land due to incomplete practice. It is the Border Land between this physical world and the Spiritual World of the Pure Land.
For Shin Buddhists (Jodo Shinshu), as taught by Shinran Shonin, our founder, the Border Land does not really apply. Due to the inexhaustible (or infinite) Storehouse of Merit accumulated by Dharmakara Bodhisattva’s completion of Vows and becoming Amida Buddha, everyone is Born in the Pure Land.
Thus, we know that Amida’s Vow is able to overcome all of our human limitations. This is known as Vow Power or Other Power, which makes Shin Buddhism unique. In Shin Buddhism, everyone is Born in the Pure Land, in this life or at death. There are no exceptions because of Amida’s Vow.
Shin Buddhism is not for the “chosen few,” which is common for most religions. Rather, Shin Buddhism is for the chosen all—an odd term, but means there are no exceptions for Birth in the Pure Land.
The Pure Land is the realm of spiritual existence beyond this world. It is a realm or world in which a Bodhisattva postpones their own Enlightenment and continues to assist others with a heart of Compassion.
Gassho (with palms together), Rev. Ron