Numbered Discourses 4.101

1. Clouds

Clouds (1st)

So I have heard.

At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

There the Buddha addressed the mendicants,

“Mendicants!”

“Venerable sir,” they replied.

The Buddha said this:

“Mendicants, there are these four kinds of clouds.

What four?

One thunders but doesn’t rain,

one rains but doesn’t thunder,

one neither thunders nor rains, and

one both rains and thunders.

These are the four kinds of clouds.

In the same way, these four individuals similar to clouds are found in the world.

What four?

One thunders but doesn’t rain,

one rains but doesn’t thunder,

one neither thunders nor rains, and

one both rains and thunders.

And how does an individual thunder but not rain?

It’s when an individual is a talker, not a doer.

That’s how an individual thunders but doesn’t rain.

That individual is like a cloud that thunders but doesn’t rain, I say.

And how does an individual rain but not thunder?

It’s when an individual is a doer, not a talker. …

And how does an individual neither thunder nor rain?

It’s when an individual is neither a talker nor a doer. …

And how does an individual both thunder and rain?

It’s when an individual is both a talker and a doer. …

These four individuals similar to clouds are found in the world.”