The Jungle Trifecta.
University. Hospital. Monastery.
To me, Kumankaya is equal parts of all of them. The jungle trifecta.
University.
With several hundred books, 2 living master teachers, serene nature, a sprawling campus, and endless nights of ceremonial education, Kumankaya is a jungle university.
My brother-in-arms Nic wrote a brilliant piece for Apotheosis, diving deeper into the frame of master plant diets (Kumankaya’s specialty) as a Jungle PhD.
Nicholas Stubbs
Some master plant diets are teaching diets: you are there to learn.
You study Shipibo—the indigenous ceremonial language used in this lineage—while learning how to work with visions, the medicine, and the Shipibo healing art. It is a long, rigorous, complex process. Akin to a Doctorate program.
Hospital.
Kumankaya is a hospital of the heart. A soul sanctuary. For some, it’s an emergency room, handling matters of life-threatening urgency like late-stage cancer or treatment-resistant depression. For others, it’s like visiting the chiropractor—a regular check-in and tune-up you do once or twice a year.
The word in Shipibo for medicine house—rao shobo—is the same word they use for hospital.
My role as a facilitator feels like being a nurse. Bringing people to and from their mats to sit in front of the doctors, keeping them comfortable and supported throughout their stay, and performing minor interventions in case someone is struggling and needs assistance in their pre- or post-care process.
A psychic hospital, addressing matters of the body-mind with an ancient and sophisticated medical technology. Our staff consists of los doctores—medicinal plants—the two specialized surgeons, Ashley and Remi, and 2 facilitator-nurses, myself and another gentleman.
Monastery.
My favourite frame of all: the medicine monastery. This is the feeling that hooked me.
A living community of fierce contemplative and self-mastery work. I’ve been doing a morning martial arts practice (the Shi San Quan, 13 Fists Elementary Shaolin form) in the maloka, and it feels exactly like the dojo I've long dreamt about.
I bow every time I step into this hallowed hall, just like getting on the tatami mats before a jiu-jitsu sparring session.
Training grounds of an ancient lineage. Simple food, deep study, incredible depth of practice, apprenticing under living masters, and adopting the posture of a true disciple.
Our schedule has been full, and adjusting to jungle life has taken a minute. But I'm settling in, and I've got dozens of ideas for new pieces already.
More to come. I love you.
EB. 🌿