IS REALITY BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL? By YaroslavKomarovski. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2024. Pp. 212. Paperback, $24.50.

Komarovski's latest monograph explores Tibetan Buddhist debates about the fundamental nature of living beings. At issue is whether the ultimate nature of mind is virtuous or beyond virtue and non-virtue, and whether the qualities of Buddhahood are already present or something to be cultivated. Komarovski focuses on four scholars: Dorjé Sherap from the Drigung Kagyu tradition and three Sakya scholars—Sakya Pandita (1182–1251), Gorampa (1429–89), and Shakya Chokden (1428–1507). Following his teacher, Jikten Gönpo, Dorjé Sherap argues that ultimate virtue is the basis of all positive qualities associated with the basis, path, and result of Buddhist practice. Sakya Pandita counters that the ultimate is not a virtue at all, since virtues are functional, impermanent things and cannot correspond to ultimate reality, which he argues to be unchanging. Equating the Buddha nature with the dharma-sphere, a term denoting the natural state of all phenomena, he holds that this nature transcends virtue and evil. Gorampa supports this view, asserting that characterizing the dharma-sphere as virtuous is mere imputation. By contrast, Shakya Chokden's interpretation differs from Sakya Pandita's in numerous ways. Distinguishing between self- and other-emptiness, Shakya Chokden argues that Sakya Pandita's view corresponds to the former yet does not invalidate the latter. He thus holds that from the perspective of other-emptiness, the dharma-sphere, which he characterizes as the ultimately real nondual primordial mind, not only exists but is a virtue. Komarovski skillfully presents these complex arguments while remaining attentive to context, particularly the rivalry between Gorampa and Shakya Chokden. His analysis highlights, inter alia, Shakya Chokden's originality within the Sakya tradition and makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of these debates.