This simile depicts the universal quality of the Buddha, who is like a large cloud that covers all the diverse beings of this world. Chapters Two and Three have introduced the teachings of the One Vehicle (the Truth), which unifies all kinds of philosophies and religions. The One Vehicle can also be understood as a manifestation of the Buddha’s personality, because he attained the Truth and manifested it in his very body. In the “Simile of Herbs,” the personality of the Buddha, the One Thus Come (Tathagata, the title by which he described himself after his enlightenment), is symbolized by the same kind of cloud, of rain, of content, or of taste.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra