Semen retention is about retaining the semen - not ejaculating. We believe it has spiritual and scientific benefits.

You can still have sex. Nothing wrong with sex for fun, or as a way to build intimacy and share love between partners. But sex should end without you ejaculating.

Same for masturbation, you can still do it as long as you dont finish in ejaculation. Even tho I think masturbating is kind of pointless, it accomplishes nothing but just drains you, so not sure why would somebody do it... but techically you can still do it and at the same time retain, as long as you dont finish.

Some people want to become monks and they stay away from sex and sometimes even looking or thinking of a girl. Different people have different goals, thats fine. For each their own.

But most of us want to have benefits of retention while still having normal relationships and normal sex life. Its up to you how you use this.