Customer Reviews

The End of Suffering: Fearless Living in Troubled Times . . or, How to Get Out of Hell Free

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Russell Targ, states in the preface of this book that his grief over the untimely death of his daughter Elisabeth 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 persuaded 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 a 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.

This is a beautiful, profound book written by one of the greatest teachers of non local reality of our time. Russell is not afraid of suffering, and, notably, he teaches us how to give up our fear too. This book and Russell embody a precious humanity and purpose that is so scarce in our culture which is so wrought with psychobabble. I recommend this book to everyone who is brave enough to delve into their lives and hearts to experience freedom.

Russell Targ, a physicist as well as paranormal researcher, and J. J. Hurtak, a Judeo-Christian and Buddhist spiritual teacher have written a book of great importance for the rest of us. As they suggest, it is today because we have leaders that are ignorant about our oneness with not only each other but the Creator, they make absurd statements that actually lead to war and untold suffering such as, "Those who are not with us are with the terrorists." The modern physics of nonlocality and remote viewing research all show our potential for experiencing expanded awareness that yield to a deeper understanding of why avatars like Jesus uttered: "If you see me, you have seen God." More so, these authors speak to why the Dalai Lama described Nagarjuna as one of the truly enlightened people of all times and places. Thus, Targ and Hurtak describe a peaceful and joyful path based on these teachings and graciously share them with all who have ears to hear and eyes to see this ultimate truth: "We are one global human being" as the shamans themselves declare worldwide. The Maya priest-shaman use the word "In La'kech," that translates as this profound realization in English, "I am another yourself." Read this book and stop suffering, then start living a self-empowered life now!

Dr. John Jay Harper is a clinical hypnotherapist and author of Tranceformers: Shamans of the 21st Century.

Essentially, this book is a scattered assortment of topics from psi research, quantum theory and Buddhism which are supposed to culminate in the reader a sense of connectivity to the universe and in turn trivialize our earthy sufferings; sort of a new age version of the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff." However, I really don't think that the authors have delivered on this premise. Although to some readers this book may serve as a semi-decent introduction to such topics as psychic phenomenon, quantum mechanics and Buddhism, overall, the explanations are superficial and don't come together in a coherent fashion to support what the book claims in its title. If you are looking for a more meaningful coverage of the relationship between quantum theory and psi, may I recommend "Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality" by Dean Radin.

I have read 2 other books by Russell Targ, "Miracles of Mind" and "The Heart of the Mind" and enjoyed them very much. "The End of Suffering" should be on the required reading list of any serious seeker of truth. Yes, what Messrs. Targ & Hurtak have written has been said before in different formats but sometimes we need to read it again and again and by different "authors" before we allow ourselves to truly take it in.

For us, "The End of Suffering: Fearless Living in Troubled Times", is a book that unifies the greatest insights of the realms of quantum physics and the greater mystical teachings of the East. In these troubled times, when the synthetic self dominates the false image of society a new lotus of spiritual-scientific wisdom emerges from the muddy depths of the confused web of hyper-specialized reality. Nagarjuna talks to us of the middle way, which takes us into hyper-spatial/temporal realities where we learn to bring the rest of the greater 'Love' story into the sciences. If we as humanity are going to become the embryo gods the ancient scriptures talk about - the three jeweled lotus, then we need to understand the key concepts this book is saying. Which is that we are all interconnected and that our state of 'mind' plays a greater role than we where lead to believe. In the current super information age, universities and other educational organizationsare asking the question where to next? This book certainly does give a beautiful flow plan for new models of how our education and ultimately humanity must go, if we are to create a future of hope. For through the practical secrets of little gems in this book there shines now for us a hope for our future.

R. Parness "BULL's" angry review reminds me of the emotional reactions readers have when they don't take the time to (or learn the art of) careful reading. Aristotle is an important component of this innovative book's thesis about Buddhism: it is as connected to a different kind of logic as it is to the "truths" and "pathways" we so often associate Buddhism with. I'm finding the book extremely helpful in its claims that we in the West still hang on to our ancient Greek ways of dualistic thinking, and that these ways cause so much mental (and even physical)suffering. Aristotle's logic is carefully explained, is not mentioned more than necessary, and is not a reason for careful readers to tear up the book. On the contrary, I would hope if any reader finds the sections on logic puzzling, he or she might simply patiently retrace reading steps to find an enlightening stance on Buddhist awareness vs. Western habits of thinking.

Most of the new age books and spiritual related literature present to us a lot of information that most of the times seems too abstract or too "up in the sky" (by this I do not mean that all that information is not real or authentic).
I believe there needs to be a bridge between everyday reality and spirituality, or to put it in other words, we need to start bringing and applying spirituality to our every day life. This is a great book for adressing this sense of separation. In my opinion, it can help a logic mind to start awakening to a more intuitive way of thinking and a more holistic perception of reality.
The title may not sound like a very scientific book, but it is mainly about physics and phylosophy, written on a very simple way (I think understandable to anyone).
It also may be great to "ground" a lot of people on the spiritual path to a more concrete way of living without losing any "connection" to the spiritual realm.
Wether you enjoy this book or not, I think is a must. Besides the essence of the content itself (which obviously is the teachings that the authors are attemping to transmit), it is also an excellent reference about the development of science and spirituallity in our times.
On top of everything, it is not a long book, so that makes it even more readable.

What is non-locality? It's talking about your mind. It means that we think we exist in a certain location. For example, "I'm at the mall or I'm on this bar stool". If we are talking about the body, well yes it's someplace but the author is talking about mind as who we are. In that sense non-local means we don't really exist in a certain place like we think we do but that consciousness can focus anywhere in the universe-this one or other dimensional universes. It just happens to be stuck here most of the time. Someone said perhaps the only limits we place on the mind are those we believe in.

This book was everything it was advertised to be. It is readable and very enlightening. Highly recommended.