This came to mind:
Three weapons:
learning, seclusion, and wisdom.
–DN33
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I think the question reflects that I am a naïve reader. On reinspection I see that your comment is still talking about the contents of the first vagga. (Hopefully so anyway?) I expect that the formatting and supply of contents that will accompany publication will make the organisation clearer for other new readers. 
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That’s a nice essay, thanks. I’ll consider whether I want to change my wording.
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Having told the reader how many are in the first vagga, could you also indicate at this point how many are in the second and third?
metta.
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“the household life is cramped and dirty, but the life of one gone forth is wide open”,
This applies even if a lay person attains jhana apparently.
What stopped you ordaining and how sustainable is your current set up?
I think this may be a bit off topic for this thread, so I’ll try to make my response short if I can.
My Mother didn’t want me to ordain due to the rule on not touching women. She wanted to continue giving me hugs and kisses. I know that’s only a rule of confession, but that would have been an issue. She convinced me to wait(“till she was dead” were her words, lol). It’s funny because she is an avid mediator, multiple times a day, and is otherwise really into my Buddhist practice. Here in Houston, where I am now, there is a plethora of temples, monasteries and meditation centers, which is great. Sri Lankan, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tibetan, Thai, Korean, Cambodian.
So, I’ve been back living with my elderly parents studying and meditating full time. They just let me do my own thing without a single issue. Which has allowed me to also help them out here and there, though they are quite independent, they’ve come to rely on me being available for them. My sister is busy with her family and work obligations some 450+ miles away in Dallas.
I have also been able to go on two personal retreats in the past three years too, staying on one of the family’s farms in southeastern Iowa for over 6 months each time(27 total months spent in retreat in Iowa). These were really beneficial for my practice.
I know most people wouldn’t be down with living with their parents at my age(I was skeptical myself), but it has been super harmonious. Wasn’t my first choice, but it has really worked out.
My practice has really flourished over the past five years. 
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Hi Lokantara, thanks so much for sharing this! It deeply resonates with me, as it mirrors a lot of my own situation (though not always that harmonious in my case). Gives me much to reflect about.
(Sorry, mods, for still being off topic—I just had to reply here!)
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Since there seems to be interest, you, @Ocean, and @lokantara could start a Watercooler discussion. It might be helpful for others trying to arrange their situation with similar restrictions.
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my mind gets dull but theres not much clamping going on. can you elaborate.
Counting breaths is incredibly dull. One has to actually strive (e.g., “clamp down”) to keep count. It’s a struggle. And meditation is soooooo nice. So one might fall asleep. How vexing. One must strive to be awake enough to keep count. Very hard. Mind the gap. Clamp down. Stay sharp. Place the mind. Keep it connected. That is perhaps the mighty struggle of first jhana.
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Kassapa
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