I’ve bookmarked the exact points of interest so you can see it instantly.
In MN 78, the smoking gun is here:
(akusalā saṅkappā cease in first jhana)
(right effort does the work of removing kusalā saṅkappā within, and prior to first jhana)
(3 kusalā saṅkappā are same as 3 aspects of Right Resolve)
(kusalā saṅkappā depend on the 3 kusala perceptions)
(kusalā saṅkappā cease in 2nd jhana)
saṅkappā, is often equivalent to vitakka/thinking, and B.Sujato translates it as “thinking” in this context. If skillful thinking doesn’t cease until 2nd jhana, that means skillful thinking is still at large and active in first jhana. Which means B.Sujatos’s translation of V&V as “placing the mind and keeping it connected” for V&V in first and second jhana are incoherent here.
The chinese Agama parallel agrees on this point (that B. Sujato’s translation of V&V doesn’t work), and there are further interesting differences we will explore later.
MN 78 Eng+Pali, B.Sujato, MN 78's || MA 179 from Chinese to English, B.Analayo