Alara Kalama (Pāḷi & Sanskrit ),ĀḷāraKālā was a hermit and a teacher of sāṃkhya philosophy and meditation. He was a śramaṇa and, according to the Pāli Canon scriptures, the first teacher of Gautama Buddha.
History
After Siddhartha Gautama became an ascetic, he went to Alara Kalama, who was a teacher that taught a kind of early meditation at Vessali. Alara taught Siddhartha 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 Siddhartha found a new teacher, Uddaka Rāmaputta.