The Symbolism of Lent, for Mystics

In this article, we discuss the symbolism of Lent. I want to look at Lent not as a phenomenon of fundamentalist Christianity, but as one that describes some universal features of any spiritual path.

We tend to think of Lent as a period when we give up some habit or some foodstuff as a personal challenge. Though this might be useful as a personal-improvement method, it makes a mockery of true Lent.

Serious Christians practice fasting for 40 days, but in my opinion they still get Lent wrong, because they remain tied up in religious hearsay. This is an error, regardless of how self-consistent and comprehensive the dogma may seem.

So, I don’t want to churn out the accepted dogma surrounding Lent, but to examine its symbolism: what does Lent really mean as a symbol? What is its greater significance?

An Aside: I Am Not a Christian

So we are clear, I am a meditator, a mystic. I am dedicated to direct experience and nothing else. If elements of a faith system serve to enhance my direct experience of these matters, I entertain them. If they don’t, I see them as irrelevant, unless new and improved information forces me to re-evaluate their validity.

At this point, I do not believe that any of the Christian myths are accurate historical accounts of real events and people, nor do I follow any of the well-established rites and rules that Christianity prescribes.

I’m not particularly interested in whether Jesus was a historical person or not, or whether he died on a cross, or whether he spent 40 days and nights in a desert, or whether he was resurrected. That is all hearsay and irrelevant.

However, I do see Christianity as a rich source of esoteric teachings, of “secret teachings”, many of which are transmitted non-verbally through its rich symbolism.

I feel a lot of resonance towards symbols such as the Cross, Jesus Christ, the Holy Grail, and so on, but only because they point me to my transpersonal nature, and only to the extent that they do.

You may like my episode on the Christian Cross and its True Meaning

In fact, I believe their only validity is as symbols. When I see symbolism of this kind, I can almost hear them whispering to me, “Hey, I’m trying to show you something profound about the nature of yourself and reality, check it out.” I see no other validity to them when it comes to serious spiritual practice.

That all said, let me share what Lent evokes in me as a spiritual symbol.

My Interpretation of the Symbolism of Lent

There are several things that Lent evokes in me, but fundamentally Lent is a symbol for the principle of chastity, of giving up, of renunciation, which is a fundamental part of the path to enlightenment.

It’s true that all spiritual traditions encourage renunciation with respect to behavioural and psychological habits. However, ultimate chastity is beyond things like diet and bad habits: it’s related to our very identity.

Chastity with regards to our identity is the fundamental chastity of the spiritual path.

We can see this variously as:

• a single distinct phase at the beginning of our spiritual path, lasting a few years;
• multiple phases of our spiritual path, lasting several weeks, months or years each time;
• a principle that underlies the entire spiritual path;
• symbolism for God being lost from itself.

All four have their validity, and I’ll describe them here, beginning with the first two.

Lent Symbolism as a Period of Time

Seen as a distinct phase, Lent is a period of great effort and confusion. We’re doing spiritual practice, following some sort of system, and trying to glimpse the nature of ourselves and reality, but we continually come up empty-handed.

To come to deep mystical realisation or gnosis, we must disidentify from who we always believe we’ve been: this person, with all their quirks, likes, dislikes, thoughts, memories, plans, regrets, hang-ups, strong suits, and so on.

In my mind, the true meaning of the dogma that “Jesus spent forty days and nights in the desert” and was “tempted by the Devil” and was then “crucified” before he “awoke from the dead”, is simply that if we’re to awaken to our spiritual nature and then live it out, we must give up all our illusions about who we think we are. We must starve our conceptual mind. This process can be disturbing and protracted.

We must profoundly renounce our “sin”, which really means our false investment in everything that is not God, including the separate ego and duality of subject and object. This is not a surface change of habit but a deep, lasting and fundamental shift in consciousness.

We’ll likely go through confusion (the desert, or purgatory) and be repeatedly caught up in our delusions (the Devil) as we’re trying to walk the spiritual path. In fact, you might say that our entire lives before our own spiritual death and renewal is a kind of desert, because we go about our lives drunk on the Surface level of our consciousness.

In any case, we finally experience deep death of our identity (Crucifixion). It’s well-documented in Buddhism that this step can be destabilising, at least for a while. We may go through a profound crisis (or desert) before finally embodying in everyday life the deeper truth of who we are (the Resurrection).

the exact symbolic meaning of Christ’s crucifixion was the crucifixion or death of the separate self, in all forms, followed by the Resurrection of ultimate unity consciousness (I and the Father are one) and the Ascension to radical release in and as Godhead.

Ken wilber, up from eden

In fact, we go through many of these periods on the path. We may come to a certain level of realisation, but then have to realise and let go of our identification with that, so that we can reach a new level of understanding and be “reborn” yet again. The period leading up to our first glimpses of Truth may feel particularly barren and effortful.

As An Everpresent Feature

From this perspective, spiritual growth is a constant death and rebirth that requires a continual letting go of our concepts and ideas. As such, Lent is an ever-present feature of this work.

Does this mean that we can’t celebrate Lent as it falls in the calendar year? I wouldn’t go that far. But true Lent is a constant chastity, a continual openness to emptying our cup so we can fill it again, a continual not-knowing.

Remember, Lent is about renouncing our illusions with regards to who we are, what life is about, and ultimate reality.

So if it’s not just about giving up chocolate, or fasting, or repenting our sins, how does this form of Lent look in real terms?

• taking our spiritual realisations lightly, knowing that there is much more to realise;
• committing to deep spiritual practice for as long as it takes;
• chopping away our habits of mind and psychology that keep us stuck in “sin”;
• renouncing patterns of behaviour that are grounded in lack and want;
• beginner’s mind: a firm stance to abide in not-knowing;
• silent presence: remaining right here, right now, seeing all experience rather than being it;
• oneness: seeing all experience as a manifestation of our own true nature;
• renouncing duality: continually aware of our tendency to divide the world into subject and object.

As God Lost to Itself

I also believe that Lent symbolises God being lost to itself, which occurs when we’re unenlightened. We’re manifesting as God, as is everything around us, but we’re unaware of this, and this creates all kind of trouble in our lives.

Sure, all of our experience ultimately comes from Source, but not all of us are aware of this. When we aren’t, life appears solid, separate, “real”, imposing, intractable. It is Hell, it is barren, it is desolate. It’s like a never-ending desert: no matter what we do, we can never truly be happy. We spend our lives drinking salt water, never quite satiated.

Heaven and the Peace of God only reign when we die to our dualistic illusions and our false self. This is when God is fully revealed to itself in all its glory, and is reborn, fully expressing itself as itself, with you as the conduit.

Lent In All Traditions

The principle of Lent (read: chastity) is found in spiritual traditions across the world. Though it may not be found in the form of rituals or rites, it always plays a role in the spiritual path, because it’s necessary for spiritual transformation.

A fundamental part of Buddhism is chastity, particularly in old-school, Theravadin traditions with the shaved heads, long robes, giving up of possessions, and norms for behaviour. This is seen as a fundamental and obligatory aspect of living as a monk and receiving Buddhist teachings.

To give another concrete example, we can see Lent as a phase very clearly in the popular Eight Ox-Herding Pictures from Zen Buddhism.

The top half of the above diagram is Lent. From the time that the boy sees the footsteps of the ox, he is subject to confusion, grasping and striving. The ox runs in all directions, evading his chase.

Even when he manages to tie a rope around the ox, it still possess wild energy, and the boy continues running around trying to find a way to capture the beast for good. He’s trying very hard, but his effort comes to naught. This period is Lent.

It’s only when the boy finally tames the ox and starts to ride the ox that he truly lives a spiritual life. This is when he is “reborn” and goes out into the world with his discoveries, living a life that is very different to his previous one.

Look for the principle of Lent in any model of the spiritual path, whether as a phase or as an ever-present, and you’re bound to find it.

You may enjoy my episode on the Grand, Universal Human Illusion.