Papers by Claire Miller Skriletz
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, 2014
"This paper briefly examines the main female characters in two Dhammapada Commentary tales, "The ... more "This paper briefly examines the main female characters in two Dhammapada Commentary tales, "The Mind Reader" and "The Weaver's Daughter." I consider what ethical lessons are conveyed to the audience through these tales, and then I look at the female lay disciple in "The Mind Reader" and the teenage Weaver's Daughter in "The Weaver's Daughter" as lay women held up as examples of ethical behavior. Although the women are no doubt exceptional for women in Buddhist writings, their spiritual advancements are noticeably different than the male figures in the stories.
**The uploaded PDF is an excerpt only. If you'd like a copy of the whole paper, please message me.
This paper considers the various gender-based roles assigned to Margery Kempe and those that she ... more This paper considers the various gender-based roles assigned to Margery Kempe and those that she claims for herself.
***This is an excerpt of the conference paper only. Please message me if you'd like a copy of the full paper.
This thesis critiques the existing binary categories applied to American Buddhism, that of ethnic... more This thesis critiques the existing binary categories applied to American Buddhism, that of ethnic and convert. First, a critique of existing models and the term ethnic is presented. In light of the critique and the shortcomings of existing models, this thesis presents a new model for studying and classifying Buddhist communities in the United States, culturally-informed Buddhisms. Chapter Three of the thesis applies the culturally-informed Buddhisms model to case studies of the websites for the Buddhist Churches of America organization and the Tri-State/Denver Buddhist Temple. The goals of the culturally-informed Buddhisms model are: to create an adaptable and specific methodology and terminology for scholars to use when researching communities which accounts for change over time, and to re-orient the conversation away from the assumed ethnic and racial heritages of community members to a nuanced discussion of the various cultural strands that have influenced and shaped the communities.
**The file uploaded here is representative excerpts from the full thesis. Please contact me if you'd like to read the complete thesis.
This essay presents a new analytical model, culturally-informed Buddhisms, for studying and under... more This essay presents a new analytical model, culturally-informed Buddhisms, for studying and understanding Buddhist communities in the United States. The model strives to offer researchers and scholars a way to categorize and represent Buddhist communities in the United States that does not rely on race- or ethnicity-based classification schemes. The model was designed to be flexible enough to account for changes in the communities over time, to recognize transnational movement, and to identify the various cultural influences on the community throughout its existence.
This paper looks at a set of related Jātaka tales, the Mahā-paduma Jātaka and the Bandhanamokkha ... more This paper looks at a set of related Jātaka tales, the Mahā-paduma Jātaka and the Bandhanamokkha Jātaka, to determine what ethical prescriptions are conveyed, and if there are gendered ethical messages therein. It is my contention that the female character in the tales – generally lacking name or voice – is treated ambiguously and that her ethical behavior over several lifetimes only serves to reinforce existing messages of masculine spiritual and ethical supremacy. Furthermore, neither of the tales provides a positive model of ethical behavior for lay women, unless it is to extrapolate from the virtuous actions of the male characters. The audience and reader are not given access to the female characters’ thoughts or motivations for her actions, further restricting understanding. The Mahā-paduma Jātaka is the longest of the Jātakas under consideration in this paper, set in the audience’s present day shortly after the Buddha has attained Enlightenment, and deals with the disastrous karmic effects of attempting to besmirch the Buddha’s good name. The main female character in this tale is named Ciñcamānavikā; it is her past lives that are the subject of the past life in the Mahā-paduma Jātaka and a different past life in the Bandhanamokkha Jātaka. By way of contrast to the Jātakas, I briefly consider the character of Queen Mallikā from the Dhammapada Commentary, a character with voice and virtue, features notably lacking from the Jātaka tales.
This provides a brief overview of the Grail/Grail Message movement. Primary source and secondary ... more This provides a brief overview of the Grail/Grail Message movement. Primary source and secondary source bibliographies are also included.
The founder of the Grail/Grail Message movement was Abd-ru-shin (born Oskar Ernst Bernhardt) and should not be confused with the Women's Grail Movement.
This provides a brief overview of the Konkokyo (Konkô-kyô) movement. Primary source and secondary... more This provides a brief overview of the Konkokyo (Konkô-kyô) movement. Primary source and secondary source bibliographies are also included.
This provides a brief overview of the Mahikari movement. Primary source and secondary source bibl... more This provides a brief overview of the Mahikari movement. Primary source and secondary source bibliographies are also included.
This provides a brief overview of the Omoto/Oomoto movement. Primary source and secondary source ... more This provides a brief overview of the Omoto/Oomoto movement. Primary source and secondary source bibliographies are also included.
This provides a brief overview of the PL Kyodan movement. Primary source and secondary source bib... more This provides a brief overview of the PL Kyodan movement. Primary source and secondary source bibliographies are also included.
This provides a brief overview of the Seicho no Ie movement. Primary source and secondary source ... more This provides a brief overview of the Seicho no Ie movement. Primary source and secondary source bibliographies are also included.
This provides a brief overview of the Sekai Kyusei Kyo movement. Primary source and secondary sou... more This provides a brief overview of the Sekai Kyusei Kyo movement. Primary source and secondary source bibliographies are also included.
This provides a brief overview of the Shinnyo-en movement. Primary source and secondary source bi... more This provides a brief overview of the Shinnyo-en movement. Primary source and secondary source bibliographies are also included.
This provides a brief overview of the Soka Gakki International (SGI) movement. Primary source, se... more This provides a brief overview of the Soka Gakki International (SGI) movement. Primary source, secondary source, and academic source bibliographies are also included.
This provides a brief overview of the Tenrikyo movement. Primary source and secondary source bibl... more This provides a brief overview of the Tenrikyo movement. Primary source and secondary source bibliographies are also included.
This provides a brief overview of Theosophy. Primary source, secondary source, and academic sourc... more This provides a brief overview of Theosophy. Primary source, secondary source, and academic source bibliographies are also included.
Book Reviews by Claire Miller Skriletz
Religion and Gender (Journal), Jun 2014
Feminist Studies in Religion blog, 2014
Musings about my experience researching the Book of Margery Kempe and being a feminist.
Uploads
Papers by Claire Miller Skriletz
**The uploaded PDF is an excerpt only. If you'd like a copy of the whole paper, please message me.
***This is an excerpt of the conference paper only. Please message me if you'd like a copy of the full paper.
**The file uploaded here is representative excerpts from the full thesis. Please contact me if you'd like to read the complete thesis.
The founder of the Grail/Grail Message movement was Abd-ru-shin (born Oskar Ernst Bernhardt) and should not be confused with the Women's Grail Movement.
Book Reviews by Claire Miller Skriletz
Community Engagement by Claire Miller Skriletz
**The uploaded PDF is an excerpt only. If you'd like a copy of the whole paper, please message me.
***This is an excerpt of the conference paper only. Please message me if you'd like a copy of the full paper.
**The file uploaded here is representative excerpts from the full thesis. Please contact me if you'd like to read the complete thesis.
The founder of the Grail/Grail Message movement was Abd-ru-shin (born Oskar Ernst Bernhardt) and should not be confused with the Women's Grail Movement.