I’m a little surprised to read this, it seems odd to be “discouraged” from celibacy by a monastic, but perhaps I’m misunderstanding and it was more about the formality of taking the precepts rather than the actual practice of celibacy?
It’s quite helpful to think about it as a natural progression, and to me it seems like the renunciate precepts all support each other…
the desire to maintain a regular social life naturally fades as one’s practice deepens, so there isn’t external pressure to consume entertainment or eat in the evenings… if one is celibate, there’s no need to adorn the body or have the type of bed that would comfortably accommodate another person.
For me, the Khaggavisana Sutta is where I found inspiration and support for practicing 8 precepts all the time, and I guess that’s because it’s somewhat uncharted and often quite solitary territory between living as a more typical layperson and being a monastic… I took a lot of comfort reading this thread and knowing others here are also exploring that territory: