Alara Kalama


Alar Kalama Lingo was a hermit saint and a teacher of ancient meditation. He was the specialist of Śramaṇa philosophy. According to the Pāli Canon scriptures, he was the first teacher of Gautama Buddha.

History

"Alara Kalama was a hermit saint and a teacher of yogic meditation. According to the Pāli Canon scriptures, he was one of the teachers of Gautama Buddha......After Gautama became an ascetic, he went to Alara Kalama, who was a teacher that taught a kind of early Samkhya philosophy at Vessali. Alara taught Gautama Buddha meditation, especially a dhyānic state called the "sphere of nothingness"
Gautama eventually equalled Alara, who could not teach him more, saying, "You are the same as I am now. There is no difference between us. Stay here and take my place and teach my students with me." Gautama was not interested in staying. After leaving, the Buddha found a new teacher, Uddaka Ramaputta.