sn.45.156 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)
The Rain Cloud (1)
“Bhikkhus, just as, in the last month of the hot season, when a mass of dust and dirt has swirled up, a great rain cloud out of season disperses it and quells it on the spot; so too, when a bhikkhu develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path, whenever evil unwholesome states arise, he disperses them and quells them on the spot.
“And how is this so? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view … right concentration, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release. It is in this way, bhikkhus, that a bhikkhu develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path so that whenever evil unwholesome states arise, he disperses them and quells them on the spot.”
- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi
- Editor: Blake Walsh
Storms (1st)
“Mendicants, in the last month of summer, when the dust and dirt is stirred up, a large sudden storm disperses and settles it on the spot.
In the same way, a mendicant who develops and cultivates the noble eightfold path disperses and stills bad, unskillful qualities on the spot.
How does a mendicant who develops the noble eightfold path disperse and still bad, unskillful qualities on the spot?
It’s when a mendicant develops right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion, which rely on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripen as letting go.
That’s how a mendicant who develops and cultivates the noble eightfold path disperses and stills bad, unskillful qualities on the spot.”
