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Alara Kalama ( Pāḷi & Sanskrit Āḷāra Kālāma/ Arāḍa Kālāma]), was a hermit and a teacher of sāṃkhya philosophy and meditation. [1] [2] [3] He was a śramaṇa and, according to the Pāli Canon scriptures, the first teacher of Gautama Buddha. [4]
After Siddhartha Gautama became an ascetic, he went to Alara Kalama, who was a teacher that taught a kind of early meditation at Vessali. [5] Alara taught Siddhartha meditation, especially a dhyānic state called the "sphere of nothingness" (ākiñcaññāyatana). [6] [7]
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." [4] Gautama was not interested in staying. After leaving, the Siddhartha found a new teacher, Uddaka Rāmaputta. [8]