According to Buddhist tradition, Siddhartha Gautama first studied under Alara Kalama. Alara Kalama was an influential teacher associated with meditation and spiritual practice during the period when Siddhartha was seeking liberation from suffering.
Traditional biographies say Siddhartha mastered Alara Kalama’s teachings quickly. He is often described as attaining the meditative state called the “Sphere of Nothingness,” or “Dimension of Nothingness,” under Alara’s guidance. Alara then invited Siddhartha to share leadership of his community.
Siddhartha declined because he concluded that this attainment did not provide complete liberation. He next studied under Uddaka Ramaputta, whose teaching was associated with an even subtler meditative state. Siddhartha eventually left both teachers and pursued his own path, later attaining Buddhahood.
Alara Kalama is sometimes confused with Uddaka Ramaputta because both teachers appear in the traditional account of Siddhartha’s pre-enlightenment search. Alara was the first of the two named meditation teachers in these biographies.