Desire Realm

My boyfriend/husband and I have sexual relations, but it is considered proper sexual relations in Buddhism. Can I practice Buddhism and enter the path of enlightenment?

Yes, you can absolutely practice Buddhism and enter the path to enlightenment as a lay practitioner engaging in proper sexual relations. In the context of Buddhist teachings, including those of Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, there is a clear distinction between the strict celibacy (brahmacariya) required of the monastic Sangha and the ethical...

I've heard that beings in the Desire Realm become lustful after they get rich. Is that true?

This statement is true and perfectly aligns with Master Hsuan Hua's explanation of the psychological and physiological mechanisms of beings in the Desire Realm. Master Hsuan Hua explicitly cited the proverb, "When one is well-fed and warm, one thinks of 'lust'; when one is hungry and cold, one has thoughts of theft," to explain this phenomenon....

The Six Heavens of Desire
Like these six kinds of heaven, although their physical appearance is beyond this creation, their hearts, their gods, their natures, and their lustful thoughts are still there. From this Para-nirmita-vaśa-vartin Heaven to the Four Heavenly Kings Heaven, this is called "the realm of desire". What we are talking about now is the six heavens of the Desire Realm. Why is it called the Desire Realm? It is the sentient beings here whose lustful hearts are not pure and they still have lustful thoughts. Therefore, these six heavens are called the "Six Heavens of Desire".

大佛頂首楞嚴經淺釋

十二類生‧歷位修證‧七趣

https://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sutra_explanation/Shu/volume8.htm