The Bodhisatta goes to study under the ascetic Āḷāra Kālāma, who teaches him “the sphere of nothingness” (a very deep meditative state in which the mind clings to nothing). The Bodhisatta reflects that Āḷāra has faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom, and that he has them too; before long he attains the state himself. Āḷāra says, “What I know you know, and what you know I know”, and invites the Bodhisatta to lead the disciples with him. Judging that this method does not lead to final liberation but only to rebirth after death in a realm corresponding to that absorption, the Bodhisatta leaves. The texts of every major school record this event. Taishō Canon
Pali Canon
More sources (6)
Different Accounts
The teacher's name is rendered in different ways: also Aluoluo Qieluomo, Alan Jialan, Geluoluo, Alan Jialan and Aluolan, among others.
More differences between accounts (3)
The state attained: the Pali canon of the and the Chinese Madhyama Āgama have the sphere of nothingness; the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya has “the absorption of the sphere of non-use”; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya has “the absorption without perception”.
The Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says that before meeting Āḷāra the Bodhisatta first went to the seers' grove beside Mount Gijjhakūṭa, where he saw ascetics standing on one leg and scorching their bodies between the blazing sun and fires, and left, judging these to be merely means of rebirth in a heaven.
The Buddha biographies Fangguang da zhuangyan jing and Puyao jing (the Chinese Lalitavistara) mention the two teachers only when the Buddha, after the Awakening, considers whom to teach first; the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya likewise mentions their names only after the Awakening (see Year 1 after the Awakening).
Dating
The Buddha between twenty-nine and thirty-five, after the going forth and before the austerities; the canonical texts say only that he attained the state “before long”. Inferred from the sequence of events; the year is uncertain.
Related Entries
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by three schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü) and the Chinese Madhyama Āgama. Attested across multiple schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Inferred from the sequence of events (neither the canonical texts nor the commentaries give the time; the year is worked out from the order of this event and those around it). Time precision: year uncertain.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 26:15.1–15.35
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 36:14.1–14.15
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 85:11.2–12.3
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 100:9.6
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.26 p.776b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.780b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.119b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.186 p.529a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.187 p.605b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.189 p.637a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.756a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.191 p.948b
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.192 p.22b
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Ja-a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Bv-a，§50，PTS 0.286
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 26Entire text
- SuttaCentral 對應表SuttaCentral 對應表 lzh-dg-kd1#t0779a07-
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.104a
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 26:15.13
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 26:15.32–15.33
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.118a–119b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.119a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.191 p.948a
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 26:15.5