Aṅguttara Nikāya — Discursos Numerados — 4.101 — Clouds (1st)

1So 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!”

2“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

3“Mendicants, there are these four kinds of clouds. What four?

4One thunders but doesn’t rain,

5one rains but doesn’t thunder,

6one neither thunders nor rains, and

7one both rains and thunders.

8These are the four kinds of clouds. In the same way, these four individuals similar to clouds are found in the world. What four?

9One thunders but doesn’t rain,

10one rains but doesn’t thunder,

11one neither thunders nor rains, and

12one both rains and thunders.

13And 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.

14And how does an individual rain but not thunder? It’s when an individual is a doer, not a talker. …

15And how does an individual neither thunder nor rain? It’s when an individual is neither a talker nor a doer. …

16And how does an individual both thunder and rain? It’s when an individual is both a talker and a doer. …

17These four individuals similar to clouds are found in the world.”