Alara Kalama (

Pāḷi Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a classical Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravād ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

'), was a hermit and a teacher of meditation. He was a

śramaṇa A ''śramaṇa''; ; ; ; ) is a person "who labours, toils, or exerts themselves for some higher or religious purpose" or "seeker, or ascetic, one who performs acts of austerity".Monier Monier-Williams, श्रमण śramaṇa, Sanskrit-Eng ...

and, according to

Buddhist scriptures Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli Canon of the Therav ...

, the first teacher of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

History

Various recessions of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and other texts give an account of the Buddha being approached by a minister to the Mallas named Putkasa (Pali: Pukkusa) who told him about his teacher Alara Kalama's skill in meditation. One day, while deep in meditation, Alara did not hear the sound of a caravan of five hundred wagons that passed by him. The Buddha shared a similar experience; while in the village of Ādumā, a rainstorm had frightened four cowherds and two workmen to death, while the Buddha remained calm due to his prowess in meditation. The intrigued Gautama went to Alara Kalama, who taught a kind of early meditation at Vaiśālī. Alara taught Siddhartha

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

, especially a dhyānic state called the "sphere of nothingness" ('). Gautama eventually found himself on par with Alara, who could not teach him more, saying, "It is a gain for us, my friend, a great gain for us, that we have such a companion in the holy life ... As I am, so are you; as you are, so am I. Come friend, let us now lead this community together." Gautama was not interested in staying, as Alara's dharma did not lead to freedom from samsara. After leaving, the Siddhartha found a new teacher, Udraka Rāmaputra. After attaining Enlightenment, the Buddha went to search for Alara Kalama to teach him the Dharma, only to find that he had died seven days prior.

References

Bibliography

* {{refend Early Buddhism Ancient Indian philosophers Buddhist ascetics Indian yoga teachers Samkhya