A Tour de Force -- book review

Russell Targ, states in the preface of this book that his grief over the untimely death of his daughter Elisabeth (see my blog of March 20) prompted him to examine more deeply the nature of his own suffering. The result is a tour de force. I don't say this lightly. Nor do I say this simply because Russell is my friend. The truth is that Russell Targ is a man of enormous gravity. Long before we developed a friendship, I admired him from a distance.

I should explain that Russell Targ is one of the most successful parapsychology researchers in the history of the field. He has an extraordinary gift of allowing the psychic talents of other people to flourish in his presence. And, he has had the wherewithal to conduct well-controlled studies published in mainstream scientific journals. He is one of the acknowledged founders of the flourishing field that is now known as "remote viewing." He conducted the first published, scientific research with the famous Israeli psychic Uri Geller. He was instrumental in persuading the U.S. government to invest millions of dollars in parapsychological research.

These are awesome scientific accomplishments in the field of parapsychology. I would predict that hundreds of years from now students will be studying Russell Targ's scientific papers.

But, the point of The End of Suffering, is far more profound than Targ's scientific achievements. In fact, Targ makes clear that -- to the extent he identifies himself with the famous, pioneer parapsychologist -- he is dooming himself to a life of ego-attachment. This, he claims is the basis of all unnecessary suffering.

A large part of this book is a cogent presentation of some esoteric aspects of Buddhism that few westerners ever approach. Especially important is the non-dualistic, madhyamika philosophy of the second century philosopher Nagarjuna. Targ (and his co-author J. J. Hurtak) elucidate with great clarity the distinctions between the dualistic Aristotelian thinking that has permeated western culture and the four-valued logic of Nagarjuna. But, this is not merely an exercise in the history of philosophy. It is an exploration of the psychological implications of these philosophies in modern life.

A major highlight of the book, for me, was then how the venerable teachings of Nagarjuna are shown to be consistent with the empirical findings in a variety of contemporary sciences: particularly parapsychology and physics -- but also modern medicine. And, another highlight, are the many well-known examples from popular culture (miserable lifestyles of the rich and famous) that reinforce further the pitfalls of ego-attachment to one's "story."

Yet, another highlight, for me, was the discussion of Vajrayana or Dzogchen Buddhism. Like many others, I have thought of Buddhism as composed of two major schools -- the Hinayana (or "small vehicle" based on the original Buddhist teachings) and the Mahayana (or "large vehicle" based on the notion of the compassionate Boddhisatva). Vajrayana, the third school, involves letting go of all conditioning -- including the conditioning of one's earlier training.

This book exemplifies the integration of spiritual truths with scientific facts culminating in a pragmatic, psychological approach to a life that works. I highly recommend it.