There is little that is obscured to us in interpreting The Simile of Herbs. The Buddha is pretty straightforward in saying that he is like the cloud. It seems simple enought to then think the rain represents the Dharma. The interesting thing is the Buddha, while explaining the Dharma is like the rain that falls evenly over all the plants, compares his different teachings to the different capacities of the people who have heard the Dharma.

In other words, the difference in Dharma is only as it applies to the person who takes nourishment from it. Fundamentally, there are not different Dharma teachings. There is only one teaching which appears to be different because of the capacity of the person hearing it.