One of the main themes in Taoist sexual practice is for the man to rarely if ever ejaculate, as doing this would deplete his chi. Since most men in the First World ejaculate several times a week, does this really shorten lifespan, cause premature hair graying, etc?
Is it really? I’ve only heard of this in connection with some minor buddhist sects.
Didn’t Budda Boy used to go on about this?
My understanding is the same as Tempo Gain’s - not a Taoist idea, specifically. Anyway of course it’s not scientifically accurate. That other stuff is caused by masturbation.
It would make sense that overusing yourself sexually could cause health problems. Sperm requires a lot of minerals and elements to create.
Simple rule is everything in moderation.
As far as I can recall from college studies on Taoism, yes, non-ejaculation is a Taoist practice. Basically, practitioners are encouraged to have sex as often as they can because it’s (somehow) good for you, but to stop before ejaculating because you would lose your life energy in doing so.
This is a long-standing Chinese belief that can be seen in all sorts of folklore. Fox spirits (the Chinese equivalent to a succubus) and sometimes ghosts would seduce men with a goal of stealing their semen. It empowered the spirits but depleted the victim of life, and so legends would tell of decadent men who start sexual liaisons with charming but mysterious women and gradually grow ill and die within a short time frame.
The classic Qing Dynasty supernatural tales in Liaozhaizhiyi (聊齋誌異) offer a wealth of similar stories, the most interesting of which is the romance between a man and a male fox spirit. The two have feelings for each other, and the man insists on continuing the relationship even upon learning that it will eventually kill him. I forgot how it ends, but I think he comes back reincarnated as a spirit and he and the fox continue to live happily together. Really progressive for the 17th century. (Source: I wrote my master’s thesis on Liaozhai.)
The Taoist practice of not ejaculating can lead to retrograde ejaculation, which apparently some Taoists try to achieve intentionally.
There are primarily 2 schools of thought (for men):
- Ejaculate as little as possible
- Ejaculate as much as possible
The first, often requires men to put their finger somewhere around their scrotum and push real hard right before ejaculating. However, the ancient daoists did not know that later during urination, the semen comes out anyway.
The second, is one of the reasons emporerors were often “prescribed” concubine visits.
However, the key is the qi held within the semen, that is the whole issue (as well as why fox spirits like to steal it as Hokongwei mentioned).
But for the first, scientifically accuracy is kind of a joke, since you piss it out anyway.
Is it really? I’ve only heard of this in connection with some minor buddhist sects.[/quote]
MUCH MUCH MUCH more prevalent in Daoism. In Buddhism it has to do with celibacy and not wacking off in a monastic community. Daois, it is related to fundamental beliefs about the makeup of the universe.
You should be okay, as long as you make sure not to do it with a ghost or a fox spirit.
On the other hand, women have been scientifically proven to have longer average lifespans than men (in first world countries, anyway). This could be because they have been absorbing men’s life essence.
Science! This is SCIENCE !!!
Another question: if semen is fattening, does that mean men can lose weight by masturbation? (I bet this would be perfect for some kind of internet survey.)
(1) The direct answer to the question (does tradition = science) is no. Several of the replies have included useful information, but did not speak to this point.
(2) Some western works have exaggerated the extent to which the ancient views could possibly be reconciled with science, or could have some scientific basis, e.g. “The Shorter Science and Civilization in China”, on this topic, always makes supernatural beliefs seem as natural as possible.
(3) Although Confuzius spoke briefly (above), I would give emphasis to this two-point approach in contrast to Hokwongwei: many, many classical Chinese texts presume that if the flowing-out of semen is impeded it will rot the brain, or have other vague medical bad effects (therefore, sex as often as possible, etc.). In terms of how broadly this applies to Daoism, I would say that the way to narrow it down is to look at specific Tang-dynasty reforms of Daoist practice --I suppose this could be called “the Lushan reformation” as I believe that the codification of the rituals, laws, etc., that became “standard” Daoism as we now know it happened at that time at Mt. Lu (廬山).
I’m not an expert and, honestly, I don’t plan to look into it further.
Both China and India had ancient obsessions with sperm emission that (remarkably) have nothing to do with Buddhism, but draw from other cultural and pseudo-medical beliefs.
Interesting. I hadn’t heard of the “get rid of all the sperm all the time” approach before. Is that Daoist or just folk practice? Sounds like a bunch of college kids running around in the 7th century.
‘orthodox’ Daoism. Remember, the religion is extremely diverse.
So are these like, book Daoists, or can we just go around asking real live Chinese people that we know? “Hello Mrs. Chen, your daughter and I have been dating for awhile now, and…you’re Daoists, right? Because I was wondering about your family’s sexual practices. What? Oh, no special reason–just curious. Yes, I’m sure your beliefs are all very scientifically accurate…”