Hans Burghardt and Marina Brucet at Shantideva Center in New York. Photo credit: Shantideva Center Facebook page.

From August 29 to September 6, 2026, Vajrapani Institute in California hosted the inaugural US retreat of Buddhist Mind Science: Activating Your Potential (BMS), led by Hans Burghardt and Marina Brucet, who created the program. The retreat was the centerpiece of their North America Tour 2026, which began in mid-August with teachings in Reno, Nevada, and in Campbell and Soquel, California, and ended in New York, where Hans and Marina taught at Shantideva Center and gave a talk at All Souls Church.

Hans and Marina both earned PhDs in scientific fields at the University of Barcelona and worked as academic researchers. They also completed the FPMT Masters Program. For decades they have taught at Tushita Meditation Center in Spain, where they met many students who wanted to learn meditation but did not necessarily want to become Buddhists. This gave them the idea for BMS. What began as a pilot course grew into a seven-module curriculum, which has now been offered as a complete retreat in the United States.

Buddhist Mind Science on Tour

The idea for the US teaching tour began when Hans and Marina met Suzy Waters, then spiritual program coordinator at Vajrapani Institute, at the 2025 CPMT Summit at Kopan Monastery. Suzy was keen to host a Buddhist Mind Science course at Vajrapani, and the idea gradually grew into a wider tour. Melissa Kay, then FPMT US National Coordinator, helped organize it. The FPMT North America Tour 2026 began in August, with Hans leading several talks in Nevada and California. 

From August 14 to 16, Hans led a Buddhist Mind Science retreat at Dharmakaya Buddhist Center in Reno, Nevada. On August 19, he taught “Why We React the Way We Do” at Ocean of Compassion Buddhist Center in Campbell, California, drawing on Buddhist wisdom and his experience as a scientist (you can watch the video here).

From August 21 to 23, he led the retreat “Wise Paths to the Heart” at Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel, California. Hans and Marina then led the nine-day Buddhist Mind Science retreat at Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek.

The tour ended in New York, where Hans and Marina visited Shantideva Center in Brooklyn from September 11 to 13. On September 11, they presented “From Cushion to Laboratory: The Science of Buddhist Meditation,” exploring the science behind meditation and its effects on the mind and body (you can watch the video here). On September 12 and 13, they taught a weekend course on the Four Immeasurables. They also gave a talk at All Souls Church.

Each format suited a different kind of study, as Hans and Marina explain: “A weekend course is very good for delivering the essentials of one of the modules of Buddhist Mind Science, and a week-long retreat is better for diving into some of the modules in greater depth. Also, as the course at Vajrapani Institute was meant to be facilitator training, at least one week was needed.”

Hans Burghardt taught “Why We React the Way We Do” on August 19 at Ocean of Compassion Buddhist Center in Campbell, California.
Photo credit: Ocean of Compassion Buddhist Center Facebook page.

Learning Through an Immersive Retreat

Between fifteen and twenty students attended the retreat at Vajrapani Institute, around seven of whom were candidates to become Buddhist Mind Science facilitators. The Vajrapani retreat was the second time the complete seven-module course had been offered as an immersive retreat. The first was at Kopan Monastery in July 2023, with about ninety students.

Topics such as karma, the nature of mind, and emptiness can be challenging, especially for people meeting the Dharma for the first time. Still, Hans and Marina felt at ease with their American students: “We found ourselves very comfortable with the American audiences. We felt somehow at home. People seemed very interested, warm, welcoming, and very wise in their knowledge and their reflections.” Many retreatants were already familiar with some of these key Buddhist ideas through their own reflection and experience.

“Everyone responds differently according to their background, but we found that people were in general very open-minded and had reflected on these topics, or similar ones, before. Of course, it was challenging for some, especially for those who encountered Dharma for the first time, but mostly it seemed that these were not new ideas for them. Though challenging, their open-minded mindset and wish to learn and explore helped a lot.”

The structure of the course also helped: “The fact that the course is meant to be very practical and gradual, with meditations and exercises for reflection in small groups, and the fact that it brings science and psychology together with Dharma knowledge, was also welcomed and helped a lot.” For the teachers, presenting profound Dharma topics in just a few days remains a challenge.

Both Hans and Marina have backgrounds in scientific research. Their experience brings an additional perspective to the way Buddhist Mind Science explores the relationship between contemporary knowledge and Buddhist teachings. The science component can lead to discussion and debate, just as the Dharma component can. “Yes, there is usually some debate around the science part of Buddhist Mind Science, as there is with the Dharma side of it. Altogether, it brings knowledge together from different, yet usually quite concordant, points of view. Also, the students were highly educated, and thus introduced some scientific and psychological knowledge themselves.”

Bridging Science and Buddhism: A Long-Held Wish

Buddhist Mind Science also reflects Lama Yeshe’s vision of Universal Education. Elaine Jackson, one of the founding members of Vajrapani Institute and a Buddhist Mind Science facilitator, recalls Lama Yeshe telling Ven. Connie Miller that he wanted to “put the essential aspect of the philosophy into a scientific language.”

The program also connects with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s long-standing wish to bring Buddhist wisdom into dialogue with modern science. When Hans presented the completed curriculum to Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Singapore, Rinpoche was delighted. According to Hans, Rinpoche later told Ven. Roger Kunsang that he wanted to show the program to His Holiness, as he felt it fulfilled this vision.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has also spoken about the value of Buddhist knowledge of the mind and of presenting it from a secular approach. In his letter to the 2025 CPMT Summit at Kopan Monastery, he wrote:

“These days there are also growing numbers of people, interested in understanding the workings of the mind and emotions as explained in Buddhist psychology which are both scientific and of practical value. I hope you [FPMT] will be able to provide opportunities for people to learn aspects of Buddhist knowledge purely from a secular approach.”

Hans and Marina share this vision: “That is what  Buddhist Mind Science tries to convey.”

Hans Burghardt and Marina Brucet at Shantideva Center in New York. Photo credit: Shantideva Center Facebook page.

Sharing Buddhist Mind Science More Widely

In 2026–2027, Tushita Meditation Center in Spain will offer the complete seven-module course online in Spanish, taught by Hans and Marina.

BMS courses are also running at other FPMT centers, including Buddha House in Australia, taught by Sandy Edwards; Institut Vajra Yogini in France, taught by Josep Manreza Zafra; and Maitreya Instituut Amsterdam in the Netherlands, taught by Annelies van der Heijden.

Following the Vajrapani retreat, more courses are being planned in the United States. Four modules are expected to be taught by Geshe Legtsok in 2027, and Don Handrick is expected to teach some modules at Ksitigarbha Tibetan Buddhist Center in Taos, New Mexico.

Students can also study through the FPMT Online Learning Center. Hans and Marina explain that most students will attend either a center’s in-person or online teachings, or follow the Online Learning Center program. “The Online Learning Center program can be very beneficial for people who don’t have a center nearby, or for people who have already done a Buddhist Mind Science course, or another Dharma course, and want to refresh or go through the topics again.”

Hans Burghardt and Marina Brucet at Shantideva Center in New York. Photo credit: Shantideva Center Facebook page.

An Invitation to Share the Dharma

“We have put all we have into the Buddhist Mind Science course, and we hope it’s of benefit for many sentient beings. We also hope that it is of benefit for the FPMT centers, to deliver the Dharma in a way that can attract and help more and more students.”

Hans and Marina encourage FPMT centers to offer the course. “We would encourage it! It’s not complicated! If you have someone at the center who has knowledge of the Dharma and a willingness to share it, even if that person is not an FPMT registered teacher, they can become a Buddhist Mind Science facilitator. It is not complicated! It has been designed to help both facilitators and centers, with a lot of flexibility.”

Appointed facilitators complete the seven modules and an orientation session. Registered FPMT teachers can teach the course after completing the orientation and participating in any one module. The BMS course package for centers includes manuals, presentations, guided meditations, facilitator notes, exercises, and quizzes to support its presentation.

With gratitude to Hans and Marina for sharing this story.

To learn more about becoming a facilitator and how centers can offer the program, read Buddhist Mind Science Retreat: An Invitation to Share the Dharma in a Universal Language.

Learn more about Buddhist Mind Science: Activating Your Potential.

You can also explore the Buddhist Mind Science self-paced online course through the FPMT Online Learning Center.

The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation, and community service.