འཕགས་པ་ཁྱའ་བཞའ་ཏང་ང་འཛན་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.7

intro.7

The “absorption” mentioned in the title of this sutra is not explicitly referred to or defined in the text itself. The term absorption (Skt. samādhi, Tib. ting nge ’dzin) normally refers to a peaceful meditative state wherein the senses are collected into a concentrated state of mind, but it can also at times signify a list of concepts and terms that together function as a literary unit.⁴ As Andrew Skilton has noted, absorption in the Mahāyāna context is also frequently associated with the magical powers obtained through familiarization with various meditative states.⁵ The “absorption” of the four boys, then, is perhaps best understood here as a general descriptor related to the four boys, whose miracles serve as evidence of their advanced spiritual realization, which the Buddha extols at length.