法苑珠林 4.67

4.67

According to the Fenbie gongde lun: Rain is of three kinds: first, heavenly rain; second, nāga rain; third, asura rain. Heavenly rain is a fine mist; nāga rain is extremely heavy—when pleased it is harmonious and moistening, when angry it is thunder and lightning. The asuras, when fighting with Śakra, are also able to make rain fall, which is variable in heaviness and fineness. (According to the sūtras, rain is also of many kinds: sometimes it rains without clouds, or it rains after clouds form; sometimes it rains because of nāgas, or it rains without relying on nāgas; it is truly brought about by the sympathetic resonance of sentient beings' own karma, as fully explained in the sūtras.)