sn.45.157 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)
The Rain Cloud (2)
“Bhikkhus, just as, when a great rain cloud has arisen, a strong wind intercedes to disperse and quell it; so too, when a bhikkhu develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path, whenever evil unwholesome states have arisen, he intercedes to disperse and quell them.
“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 have arisen, he intercedes to disperse and quell them.”
- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi
- Editor: Blake Walsh
Storms (2nd)
“Mendicants, when a large storm has arisen, a strong wind disperses and settles it as it proceeds.
In the same way, a mendicant who develops and cultivates the noble eightfold path disperses and stills bad, unskillful qualities as they proceed.
And how does a mendicant who develops the noble eightfold path disperse and still bad, unskillful qualities as they proceed?
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 as they proceed.”
