Āḷāra Kālāma
{{Short description|Teacher of yogic meditation and teacher of Gautama Buddha}}
{{Buddhism}}
Alara Kalama (Pāḷi & Sanskrit ''{{IAST|Āḷāra Kālāma/ Arāḍa Kālāma]
}}), was a hermit and a teacher of meditation.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=10}}Laumakis, Stephen. An Introduction to Buddhist philosophy''. 2008. p. 8{{cite book |last= Upadhyaya |first= K. N. |title= Managing Diversity in Organizations: A Global Perspective |year= 2017 |publisher= María Triana |location= Wisconsin, USA |isbn= 978-1138917019 |page=163 }} He was a śramaṇa and, according to Buddhist scriptures, the first teacher of Gautama Buddha.{{cite web|title=Ariyapariyesana Sutta,translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html|access-date=2014-06-29}}{{cite web|title=阿羅邏迦藍|url=http://buddhaspace.org/dict/fk/data/%25E9%2598%25BF%25E7%25BE%2585%25E9%2582%258F%25E8%25BF%25A6%25E8%2597%258D.html}}
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.{{cite web|title=Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra: The Miracle of Ādumā|date=22 August 2018 |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book/maha-prajnaparamita-sastra/d/doc225649.html}}
The intrigued Gautama went to Alara Kalama, who taught a kind of early meditation at Vaiśālī.{{cite book |last= Eliade |first= Mircea |title= Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind |year= 2009 |publisher= Wisdom Publications |location= Boston, USA |isbn= 9780861713356 |page= 8}} Alara taught Siddhartha meditation, especially a dhyānic state called the "sphere of nothingness" ({{lang|sa-latn|ākiṃcanyāyatana}}).{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=76}}{{cite web|url=http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/aa/aalara_kaalaama.htm|title=Ālāra Kālāma|access-date=2014-06-29|work=Article on Palikanon.com}}
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.{{cite web|title=The Buddha's First Teachers|url=http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/13lbud.htm|work=Article on Buddhanet.net|access-date=20 April 2012}}
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
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Bibliography
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- {{cite book|last=Wynne|first=Alexander|title=The Origin of Buddhist Meditation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ElIupyX_SYAC&pg=PP10|date=16 April 2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-09741-8}}
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