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

“Mendicants, there are these four kinds of clouds. What four? ~One thunders but doesn’t rain, ~one rains but doesn’t thunder, ~one neither thunders nor rains, and ~one both rains and thunders. These are the four kinds of clouds. In the same way, these four people similar to clouds are found in the world. What four? ~One thunders but doesn’t rain, ~one rains but doesn’t thunder, ~one neither thunders nor rains, and ~one both rains and thunders.

And how does a person thunder but not rain? It’s when a person is a talker, not a doer. That’s how a person thunders but doesn’t rain. That person is like a cloud that thunders but doesn’t rain, I say.

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

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

And how does a person both thunder and rain? It’s when a person is both a talker and a doer. … These four people similar to clouds are found in the world.”