Ascetic

I've been thinking about this a lot, it's odd to me that the body's natural behavior isn't the ideal and that we by acting ideally can somehow benefit ourselves with our own initiative. Now I also have seen the benefits of cultivation, so I'm not a skeptic. It's just odd and sincerely one of the deepest rabbit holes that have come up for me.

In Heavenly Phenomena, many find it easier to focus on one part of Heaven and Earth rather than the whole. What Dao do you all follow? What is the focus, the drift, or the essence? What part of Heavenly Phenomena finds itself as bright as the Sun in your eyes?

"Tao is not a property of sand. Rather, sand is one of the manifestations of tao" What a pleasant line. Still I believe the opposite. Sand does not have the intelligence or eyes to see Heaven. It is Man that introduces Heaven with his voice, not the Sand even if he believes that it can listen. The Tao is always clear there is no confusion about it, the things we add and expect are what creates the price: Time, Right Effort, Need for Goodness and Communion of Particles. I keep my purity elsewhere, it is not included in my Daoism. So for me it is cruel to believe that there is a price or an expectation for perfection in the Tao.

You're right actually, Preserving Jing is one of the first steps to daoism. I am of a slightly different culture, where refining Qi is the first step. I should have mentioned this instead of adopting the tone of being correct. As for why I believe Sleep is more damaging than masturbation, at some point a person notices how Sleep is what rots the soul towards its chemical container. It's a terrible experience and also yogic at its core. The soul truly turns bright in someone who does not desire sleep, meanwhile a man who no longer relies on sleep to be alive truly starts to live in a way that is immortal. I say the opposite because I know what Yang looks like, it looks like passion and pure spirit. In Vasistha's Yoga, it is mentioned that Women suffer 9 times as much passion as man. What else is this Passion but Yang? That natural accumulation of Yang is so much faster in women, they need to lose it desperately. It's part of what is considered the drive for sex. Now, during sensual pleasure: the feeling of connection that is rhythmic and not sharp (I consider that if Yin is being gained from sex, it would be a sharp feeling or the sensation of hot wax dripping onto skin); it's why I believe that only Yang is being moved. So TLDR during sex, Man keeps their Yang and also gains all the Yang that a Woman loses. Sexual over exhaustion, or at least part of it is due to the unpleasant sensation of a man losing too much Yang. Just like a bucket being filled with too much water again and again, it's quite painful and scarring to experience. We have a limit of how much we can experience this, but I at least believe that if I experienced this again and again (the loss of yang) I would crack. Similarly, we consider that Yang represents man and Yin represents Women. What is it that is the basis of the Female Body? A Female Body is really just a body that keeps loses more "manliness" than a man, you can imagine how losing Yang then could make a Woman more attractive. We are what we lose the most of. I'm sure if a man practiced losing Yang, they too would become more feminine. Just as a flowery man who sleeps with many women, seems subtle and thin in their femininity. Yin on the other hand seems too important and sacred to be lost in any kind of lust. I believe that the collection of Yin during sex would require either pure love or a hostile cultivation technique like Yin Plucking Technique. There is a story about a Merchant in Antiquity who practiced Yin Plucking Technique, they would buy Women and rob their virginity through sex. Plucking their Yin and then throwing them away. The story ends with the Merchant dying after vomiting a silver liquid which is said to either be Yin or Lifeforce. They collected too much Yin it seems was the moral of the story. So I guess your ideas of sexual over exhaustion are true, but I personally believe that if Yin is harvested correctly without hate or greed: then it provides enormous benefit. In any case, when we think about it; women will always keep something in their heart sacred for lust: this is the pattern of Yin. The Importance of a bucket that collects water when it rains. Sorry I couldn't be so clear, I probably come off as mildly insane. But I really appreciate your sincere attitude. I get that not all of it is conformed to normality but its what I sincerely believe and have observed.

I always figured the collection of Yin from woman was a very deliberate action, and not something that happens on its own. There's a cultivation manual called "Yin Plucking Technique" that deals with this exactly. Ehhh, I wouldn't say masturbation is a loss of energy. If someone considers that a loss of energy, then they should really try to stop SLEEPING. Sleep takes more energy from a human than loss of sexual fluids ever will. I do find that preserving Jing, through certain ideas and disciplines works, but honestly preserving Jing should be one of the final steps someone does but I'm sure people will disagree with me. My opinion, my opinion. Most people who I see undergo discipline to accumulate Jing, don't do much better than burning out their meridians. It probably feels like progress, but you're really dooming yourself to a mortal existence if you think the preservation of Jing is important then you're setting yourself up for mundane failure. Sorry that was off topic. Sex is not an exchange of Energy, it is a pure gain. Men gain a large amount of Yang from the Women they sleep with. Women benefit immensely from losing their Yang while Men always benefit from more Yang. Overall, trying to gain Yin from sleeping with someone requires a specific technique, and is somewhat evil. Because Yin is like the bucket, Yang is the water in the bucket. If a Woman loses their Yin during lost, then that basically means that the amount of Yang they can provide is less forever (unless they somehow recover Yin). Yang recovers over time, just like how rain will fill the water in a bucket. But as far as I understand, no matter how much it rains, the bucket holding the water will never change. Hence it is fair to say that Yin does not recover on its own. Only Yang does. The loss of Yin is equivalent to your bucket getting smaller. Loss of Yang is water in the bucket being exhausted. I would argue that even same sex provides the same benefit, like straight sex would. A man can even pluck another mans yin through sex. I must reiterate though: there is serious loss when someone loses their Yin to another person, because it makes their bucket smaller forever. Of course one can collect Yin to make their bucket larger again. But imagine your bucket is full and it suddenly grows smaller. A lot of the water (Yang) is gonna pour out. This is why plucking Yin gives a man so much, as sex gives Yang, which often means someone needs more Yin (make the bucket larger) if they want to hold that Yang (water in the bucket) permanently. Most people who have sex don't do this, so the benefits are temporary. Meanwhile taking Yin from a Woman means they won't be able to provide as much Yang during sex, it's a seriously heavy and often permanent blow for a Woman to lose Yin. Because as far as I understand, its a lot easier for a Man to pluck Yin then it is for a Woman.

Well, there's a lot you can learn and improve about yourself when studying Demons. Its effectively a study of lifeforms that lack more than we do, as a side effect of being raised in Hell and all. While approaching issues and problems as demonic taint is certainly a faster character growth than any emotional separation. It's honestly rewarding to be able to blame Demons for things, better than always rolling up your sleeves. While it seems evil and perhaps chaotic, it is to me more efficient than any other ways of thinking. We're so used to having to blame ourselves all the time, but rarely does someone who knows a lot about Demons actually find the space to ever blame themselves for anything. It's always a Demon that causes problem, and that conviction is freedom of its own kind. Understanding of Demons will also translate very clearly to any actual talent for Magic. Now of course if someone isn't interested in Magic a lot of Demonology becomes useless, but Demonology isn't just for magic, it's also how most people should learn etiquette. Even if Demonology is only used for the banishing of Demons, any subtle understanding will turn even the corpses of Imaginary Demons into Real Wealth. The value of Runes alone on a Demon is often more than what most gain after a lifetime of meditation. The merit of harvesting Runes from Demons alone is enough for me to consider Demonology worthwhile. When I don't know how to draw a Rune even, I don't study manuscripts, no, instead I shuffle through Demons.

I have studied the Dao of Sand all my life. This looks like an obsession probably, with sand. How sand finds its place in nature, the insignificance of a grain of sand as a memoir to my own pointless shell, and how to settle Qi in one's body just as how sand settles at the bottom of the ocean. After a lifetime of this focus, I have finally drifted towards the Dao of the Sword, something probably more well known here. Though I know little about this or any martial art, the focus and dedication of it for me is only gathering "Sword Qi" as I cultivate. As many are aware, there are different kinds of Qi, at least I believe so, and they behave with different qualities. It appears that understanding of the respective Dao does not only speed cultivation, but also the sheer intensity of one's Qi refinement. Sword Qi feels sharp, hard to even hold without an edge for it threatens to cut the container its placed in part of. Dispassionate also, everything can be cut, there are edges everywhere, yet also a sheer respect for every lifeform that has sheathed its container.

I've recently become aware of this kind of energy, almost like yin. It's very easy to sense around the dead, it's almost like this energy that is so soft and quiet that it only goes down. There are other places where it appears prevalent, in places of nature that are untouched or leylines (which I personally don't believe there are any on this world) , I also feel like this energy can be collected from trees but thats probably one of the most difficult things someone can do. I personally collect this energy from spirits, like the dead or in the astral. It's a terrible corruption though, as one has to hold onto those spirits they make use of permanently, instead of throwing them back into the void. I think it could be some unrefined sort of Qi, or perhaps a new source of energy: similar to what is generated by merely waiting. It just feels like whatever this energy is, it dies if one isn't gentle when grabbing it all the while it also dies when one is too slow for it dissipates easily like mortal qi. Surprisingly holding onto this energy makes it feel like time is distorted, or boredom/loneliness no longer feel painful.