• ཆར་པའི་བར་ཆད་བྱེད་པ་ལྔ།
  • char pa’i bar chad byed pa lnga
  • Term
Publications: 1
  • five obstacles to rainfall
  • ཆར་པའི་བར་ཆད་བྱེད་པ་ལྔ།
  • char pa’i bar chad byed pa lnga
Definition in this text:

Five conditions that prevent timely rainfall. In a discourse in Chinese translation, the Discourse on the Arising of Worlds (Qishi jing 起世經, Taishō 24, 1:349b1–c14), these are given as (1) The asura king Rāhula emerges from his palace, gathers the rain clouds in both hands, and hurls them into the ocean; (2) The power of the fire element increases, causing the rain clouds to dissipate; (3) The power of the wind element increases, blowing the rain clouds into the desert or the wilderness; (4) The spirits responsible for causing rainfall become derelict in their duties, and thus the rain clouds dissipate without releasing rain; (5) The majority of people in Jambudvīpa become mired in affliction and desire and engage in unethical conduct, so the heavens refuse to send down rain.