Buddhism in the Philippines conducted by Philip Maise has included the discovery of giant sculptures, has also discovered what he believes to be cave paintings within the burial chambers in the caves depicting the Journey to the West. Estimates of the Buddhist population of the Philippines is at 2%. Several schools of Buddhism are present in the Philippines. There are Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist temples as well as Theravada followers, lay organizations, meditation centers and groups, such as Pure Land Buddhism, Soka Gakkai International which is an international Nichiren Buddhist organization founded in Japan. The Maha Bodhi Society's Zen circle was founded in October
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