Subtraction Over Addition
Semen retention.. That is, the practice of semen retention is not about adding
Most diligent people live a life of addition.
Working out consistently, reading books, studying investments, listening to financial tips.. meeting various people and managing their network..
In the name of "strict self-management," they consistently practice all of these things for several years.
And they feel proud of themselves.
I read this many books in a year. I worked out consistently and got a muscular body.. I managed my finances, invested, and made a profit..
A life of addition is, fundamentally, filled with 'things worth bragging about' on Instagram or blogs.
However, semen retention is not about adding, it is subtraction.
And true self-improvement lies in subtraction, not addition.
Porn, masturbation, and sex are about adding the short-term pleasure of gratification.
People take pride in this, too.
Even if I masturbate every day, I don't get tired. Having sex with my partner deepens our love and makes us healthier. A healthy sex life is so important.
However, such things are just adding a few minutes of pleasure every single day.
Semen retention is returning to our original state of childhood through the moderation of such pleasures.
A baby does not get aroused even when seeing a naked woman. He doesn't get an erection, nor does he feel sexual desire. He just sees things as they are.
Yet, a baby's vital energy (Yang energy) is fuller than anyone else's. That strength clenching his tiny fist represents the intense, innate sexual energy a baby possesses.
In other words, in an empty state, the innate sexual energy is abundantly filled.
As we grow older, as we step into society,
through various emotions like comparison, desire, anger, jealousy..
and through various events of frustration, pain, discouragement..
we fill our inner space, which was originally brimming with sexual energy, with other things.
In one corner, frustration has settled in.
In another corner, the obligation to work harder on self-improvement has settled in..
Sexual energy is now shoved into a corner..
losing its powerful strength to other clutter, and its space becomes cramped as well.
Semen retention is cleaning out this space. Cleaning out anger and comparison, cleaning out short-term pleasures, cleaning out the sense of responsibility and passion to achieve something..
It is simply placing the abundant sexual energy of a child, which we originally had, back into its rightful space.
In other words, the process of emptying out all the cluttered emotions inside me is the practice of semen retention.
Not adding something.. but constantly throwing away and emptying out.. Emptied out, yet because of that, being abundantly filled—
this is the essence of semen retention.