A monk usually abstains from worldly pleasures Do monks abstain from sex and masturbation? If so, why is it that most monks look so weak, frail, non masculine? I thought semen retention is supposed to make you stronger so this really confuses me Anyone got any theories or explanations?
They sit and read or write books all day, that's why. There like nerds but instead of computers they have books!
I don’t know any monk personally. I saw a lot of them in Asia. In India there are a lot of ashrams and those who are living there practice celibacy, it means no sex and no masturbation. Their community gives them a lot of inspiration and support.
Which ones? There's fat ones as well as skinny ones. They don't work out, meditate a lot and have to eat only what's given so it's not that hard to understand.
If retention gave you muscles and made you more manly in general, I wouldn't be Infrasapiens. Monks only eat grass and think a lot, that doesn't make you look less weak.
My take is slightly different: weak and non-masculine are evaluations made through the lens of the western culture, because a magazine some time ago told you what you should consider manly and what is not. Is it YOUR opinion that masculinity means muscles? Can one say that some male dolphins are less masculine than others? Or, are male birds going to the gym at 6am to improve their physique, for better chances of finding a mate? These are concepts concocted by the human media/culture/mind. I believe evaluations on such measures are rather shallow and I dismiss them. The monks focus on the mind, with the aim to free themselves from (unnatural) desires. They may look weak or unmanly to you, but you can also look at other populations, such as the Masai, that probably look unhealthy if evaluated by the western shallow set of values, yet they don't have diabetes or heart disease; their bodies are lean and they are healthy. So if I have to choose between being considered strong and masculine by a sick culture, versus being joyful and healthy, I choose joyful and healthy, with the risk of being considered non-masculine and weak.
SR is surely bogus, though, right? If it were true, then every married man with an average sex life would be weak and non-masculine. This is obviously not the case. Discipline is its own reward.
Or these guys: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...ese-monks-mount-hiei-1000-marathons-1000-days Only 46 people have ever completed it, I guess consistent with the kind of Samarai culture if they commit to it and don't complete they take their life.
Well just on the subject of looking frail: Muscle mass is a result of taxing the body beyond the norm, and then fuelling it sufficiently to encourage growth. Monastic life of any kind typically doesn't involve a ton of sport or heavy physical activity. More importantly than that though, often spiritual practice has a tendency towards asceticism, and living with the bare minimum of physical comforts. That means monks also often eat a fairly small amount. Some even practice regular fasting and caloric restriction. So even if they were exercising, working out etc, most of them simply aren't eating enough to be able to sustain much in the way of strength or muscle mass. Of course there are exceptions, and monks who train, who eat a lot, and who look a lot different, but it depends on their culture, and practices. The bottom line though is that while semen retention, avoiding masturbation, and avoiding porn all have a multitude of potential benefits, none of those benefits give you increased muscle mass.
I think it gives some boost to metabolism. I think these things have potential to the tune of 7-10% of current physical shape of practitioner. Nothing miraculous. I said potential so you need to bring that potential up by transforming energy in to brain power/muscle growth etc. Semen retention certainly improved my running endurance. And my retention was not even successful few lapses and still getting alot of benefits.