Buddhism is also Mahayana in origin, but is discussed below under the heading of Vajrayana (also commonly referred to as "Northern Buddhism"). There are a variety of strands in Eastern Buddhism, of which "the Pure Land school of Mahayana is the most widely practised today.". In most of this area however, they are fused into a single unified form of Buddhism. In Japan in particular, they form separate denominations with the five major ones being: Nichiren, peculiar to Japan; Pure Land; Shingon, a form of Vajrayana; Tendai, and Zen. In Korea, nearly all Buddhists belong to the Chogye school, which is
Faith in Buddhism modern Asia, the rational and intellectual aspects of Buddhism were mostly emphasized in the West, as Buddhism was often favourably compared with Christianity. The author and Buddhist teacher Stephen Batchelor has endeavoured to advocate a form of Buddhism which he believes to be original, ancient Buddhism, as it was before it became "institutionalized as a religion". In contrast to these typical modernist trends, it has also been observed that some western Buddhist communities show great commitment to their practice and belief, and for that reason are more traditional religious than most forms of New Age spirituality. Furthermore, several Buddhist teachers