Just seen this thread. I made a post just now about this same passage! But from a different angle - going into the Pāli to try to see what this really means:
takko vitakko saṅkappo appanā byappanā cetaso abhiniropanā vacīsaṅkhāro
Rather than:
It’s the thinking— the placing of the mind, thought, applying, application, implanting of the mind, verbal processes
I’m wondering if it might rather mean something along the lines of:
It’s the examining and reexamining (/reflection) of intention,
the directing and repeated directing of mind,
the total fixation of ‘attention and consideration’.
Here’s the thread: