-ˌdizəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: Gautama Buddha + English -ism
1. usually capitalized : the teaching ascribed to Gautama Buddha holding that suffering is inherent in life and that one can escape it into nirvana by mental and moral self-purification — see eightfold path , four noble truths
2. capitalized : a religion of eastern and central Asia growing out of the teaching of Gautama Buddha and comprising widely differing sects — see hinayana , mahayana