Identical in structure to SN 32.53–55, with only the weather-type changed
Length
under a minute to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief and playful, easy to follow
Why this discourse
The fourth of this saṃyutta's five closing discourses, applying the identical template to windy weather: the windy thundercloud gods wish to revel in their own kind of enjoyment, and wind follows. Only rainy weather remains after this discourse, whose own treatment at SN 32.57 will close this saṃyutta entirely.
Reading guide
A fourth confirmation of the same template
Windy weather (vāta) receives the identical treatment already given to cool, warm, and stormy weather at SN 32.53–55 — the same gods'-own-wish causal chain, applied without variation for a fourth time.
Wind, one of the four elements, given no special treatment
Despite vāta's own significance elsewhere in the canon as one of the four great elements, this discourse treats windy weather with exactly the same brevity and the same whimsical cause as every other weather-type in this set, with no added doctrinal weight.
Second-to-last in this closing set
With cool, warm, stormy, and now windy weather all covered, only rainy weather remains before this saṃyutta's own close at SN 32.57.
Setting up the saṃyutta's own final discourse
SN 32.57 will complete this five-part set and, unlike this discourse and its three predecessors, carry the saṃyutta's own closing colophon as well — the final weather-type doubling as this saṃyutta's own final word.
Key terms
vātavalāhaka — windy thundercloud gods — the subject of this specific discourse
vāta — wind — one of the four great elements (mahābhūta) elsewhere in the canon, though given no special doctrinal treatment here
sakāya ratiyā — "our own kind of enjoyment" — identical phrasing across this entire closing set
cetopaṇidhi — wish or resolve of mind — the technical term for the gods' own intention
hetu — cause — the mendicant's own opening word, unchanged across this closing set
The text
The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. Seated to one side, that mendicant said to the Buddha: “Sir, what is the cause, what is the reason why sometimes it becomes windy?” “Mendicant, there are what are called gods of the windy thunderclouds. Sometimes they think: ‘Why don’t we revel in our own kind of enjoyment?’ Then, in accordance with their wish, it becomes windy. This is the cause, this is the reason why sometimes it becomes windy.”
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Self-check quiz
5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 5
What weather phenomenon does this discourse explain?
Correct: A. The fourth application of this closing arc's shared template.
Question 2 of 5
Does this discourse give wind any special doctrinal weight, given vāta's significance as one of the four great elements elsewhere in the canon?
Correct: A. No added doctrinal weight beyond this closing set's own shared template.
Question 3 of 5
How many weather-types remain to be explained after this discourse?
Correct: A. SN 32.57 will complete this five-part set.
Question 4 of 5
What will SN 32.57 carry that this discourse and its predecessors do not?
Correct: A. The final weather-type doubling as this saṃyutta's own final word.
Question 5 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Consistent with this saṃyutta's other discourses.
