Āḷāra Kālāma

Alara Kalama, was a hermit and a teacher of meditation. He was a śramaṇa and, according to Buddhist scriptures, the first teacher of Gautama Buddha.

History

Various recessions of the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta and other texts give an account of the Buddha being approached by a minister to the Mallas named Putkasa 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 Gotama went to Alara Kalama, who taught a kind of early meditation at Vaiśālī. Alara taught Gotama meditation, especially a jhāna state called the "sphere of nothingness".
Gotama 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." Gotama was not interested in staying, as Alara's dharma did not lead to freedom from samsara. After leaving, Siddhartha found a new teacher, Udraka Rāmaputra.
After attaining Enlightenment, the Buddha went to search for Alara Kalama to teach him the Dhamma, only to find that he had died seven days prior.