Vassasutta — Brāhmaṇavagga — the twentieth chapter of the Fives
Setting
None stated; the discourse continues from AN 5.1, whose setting at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove is understood to hold
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
single five-item list, no positive mirror
Length
~1.5 minutes to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, blending elemental, mythic, and moral causes
Why this discourse
A genuinely striking mixture: two causes of failed rainfall that read as elemental or meteorological, two that are frankly mythological, and one moral cause — human wrongdoing itself — all named in a single list as equally real obstacles that professional rain-forecasters can't foresee.
Reading guide
Five causes forecasters can't see
The fire element flaring up in the upper atmosphere and dispersing clouds; the air element doing the same; Rāhu, lord of the titans, catching rainwater in his hand and discarding it into the ocean; the gods of the rain clouds becoming negligent; and, finally, humans becoming unprincipled.
Elemental, mythic, and moral causes side by side
This discourse doesn't distinguish between these five as different kinds of explanation — a physical process, a divine figure's action, celestial negligence, and human ethics are presented as a single unified list, reflecting a cosmology where moral and natural order aren't separate domains.
Reading this cosmology honestly
This guide states this discourse's own worldview plainly, without reading it as literal contemporary meteorology or forcing it into a purely symbolic register it doesn't claim for itself — the text presents human wrongdoing as a genuine, if unusual, cause of failed rain, on the same level as elemental disturbance.
What forecasters miss
The discourse's specific claim is pointed: professional diviners (nemitta), whose whole profession is predicting weather, simply cannot see these five causes — their expertise has a real limit, and that limit includes a moral dimension their methods aren't built to detect.
A brief, unresolved provocation
Unlike several richer discourses in this chapter, this one offers no further explanation or elaboration — simply the bare list, left for the reader to sit with rather than resolved into a tidy moral lesson.
Key terms
vassassa antarāyā — “obstacles to rain” — this discourse's title concept, the five causes named.
nemitta — “forecaster, diviner” — a professional weather-predictor, explicitly said not to know these five causes.
Rāhu — the lord of the titans (asura), named here as directly responsible for one of the five causes of failed rain.
adhammikā — “unprincipled, unrighteous” — the human condition named as the fifth and final obstacle to rainfall.
tejodhātu, vāyodhātu — the fire element and the air element, named as the first two, more elemental causes in this discourse's list.
The text
The discourse in full: five causes of failed rain that forecasters can't see. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five obstacles to rain
§1“Mendicants, there are these five obstacles to rain, which the forecasters don’t know, and which their vision does not traverse. What five? In the upper atmosphere the fire element flares up, which disperses the clouds. This is the first obstacle to rain, which the forecasters don’t know, and which their vision does not traverse. Furthermore, in the upper atmosphere the air element flares up, which disperses the clouds. This is the second obstacle to rain … Furthermore, Rāhu, lord of titans, receives water in his hand and discards it in the ocean. This is the third obstacle to rain … Furthermore, the gods of the rain clouds become negligent. This is the fourth obstacle to rain … Furthermore, humans become unprincipled. This is the fifth obstacle to rain, which the forecasters don’t know, and which their vision does not traverse. These are the five obstacles to rain, which the forecasters don’t know, and which their vision does not traverse.”
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What five causes of failed rainfall does this discourse name?
Correct: A. A mixture of elemental, mythic, and moral causes.
Question 2 of 10
What does this discourse say professional forecasters cannot do?
Correct: A. Their expertise has a limit that includes a moral dimension.
Question 3 of 10
Who is Rāhu, named in this discourse?
Correct: A. Directly responsible for one of the five causes.
Question 4 of 10
What is the fifth and final cause named?
Correct: A. A moral cause, listed alongside elemental and mythic ones.
Question 5 of 10
How does this discourse treat the relationship between moral conduct and natural order?
Correct: A. Elemental, mythic, and moral causes presented side by side.
Question 6 of 10
How does this guide recommend reading this discourse's cosmology?
Correct: A. Presenting the text's own worldview honestly.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'nemitta' mean?
Correct: A. Explicitly said not to know these five causes.
Question 8 of 10
What does this discourse offer beyond its bare list?
Correct: A. One of this chapter's briefer, more provocative discourses.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'adhammikā' mean?
Correct: A. The human condition named as the fifth obstacle to rain.
Question 10 of 10
What structural form does this discourse take?
Correct: A. One of this nipāta's briefer, more direct discourses.
