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Thomas Cleary – The Taoist Classics
The Manuals of Taoist Sexual Practise – Ten Questions 03

The Yellow Emperor asked Cao Ao, ‘What is the lack from which people die?  What enables them to live?’

Cao Ao replied:

‘The mating of female and male and the taking of that vitality.

When you engage in sexual intercourse, make gentle physical movements.  When you can arouse the woman’s body and make her pant, giggle, sigh, moan and cry out, then you ejaculate into her.  Those who are drained can thus be revitalised, those who are robust can thus be enabled to prolong their vitality, while those who are old can thus be enabled to extend their lives.

The way to extend life involves watching over the closing off of the flow of semen.  When the semen is locked up and stored in a timely manner, then spiritual clarity comes and builds up; and when it builds up, it inevitably becomes evident.  Locking up the semen to stabilise vitality ensures the supply of sexual fluid is never exhausted.  Then diseases do not afflict you, so you can live a long time.

The way to embrace a woman requires peaceful serenity of heart, so the body and the mood calm one another.

So it is said, -

embrace once without ejaculating, and your eyes and ears will be clear;
embrace twice without ejaculating and your voice will be clear;
embrace three times without ejaculating and your skin will be lustrous;
embrace four times without ejaculating and your back and sides won’t be susceptible to injury;
embrace five times without ejaculating and your glutens and thighs will be strong and muscular:
embrace six times without ejaculating and all your energy channels will flow freely:
embrace seven times without ejaculating and you will never die ahead of your time
embrace eight times without ejaculating and you can enjoy long life
embrace nine times without ejaculating and you attain to clarity of spirit

This is Cao Ao’s way of embracing women to cultivate spiritual energy.