Āḷāra Kālāma
Teacher of Samana Gotama before his Enlightenment
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Āḷāra Kālāma (Pāḷi & Sanskrit Āḷāra Kālāma/ Arāḍa Kālāma]), was a hermit and a teacher of meditation.[1][2][3] He was a śramaṇa born in a Brahmin-family and, according to Buddhist scriptures, the first teacher of Gautama Buddha.[4]
History
Various recensions of the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta 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 Āḷāra Kālāma's skill in meditation. One day, while deep in meditation, Āḷāra 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.[5]
Āḷāra Kālāma taught a kind of early meditation at Vaiśālī.[6] Āḷāra taught Gotama meditation, especially a jhāna state called the "sphere of nothingness" (ākiṃcanyāyatana).[7][8] Gotama eventually found himself on par with Āḷāra , 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."[9] Gotama was not interested in staying, as Āḷāra's dharma did not lead to freedom from samsara. After leaving, Siddhartha found a new teacher, Udraka Rāmaputra.[10]
After attaining Enlightenment, the Buddha went to search for Āḷāra Kālāma to teach him the Dhamma, only to find that he had died seven days prior.[9]