"loving the act of not placing the mind": AN 4.11 and AN 4.12, B. Sujato abducts vitakka of second jhana and makes it disappear forever

The two suttas AN 4.11 and AN 4.12 are a connected set to be read and understood together.  

AN 4.12 talks about doing four jhanas in all four postures without explicitly using the label '4 jhanas', instead using synonymous terms from the 7sb awakening factors (passaddhi, samadhi, ekaggata, etc.).  Similar to how AN 8.63, SN 47.4, also are very clearly describing four jhanas without ever using the term 'jhana'. 

AN 4.12 also doesn't mention vitakka and vicara, so it's clear when the previous sutta AN 4.11 is describing a stage prior to first jhana, with vitakka and vicara, and when the vitakka has been calmed, second jhana is implied, and since it has a clear thematic continuation with AN 4.12, we can then be certain it is second jhana being referenced. 

The phrase Vitakk-ūpasame  is used in the verse, which is nearly the same as second jhana's stock formula of "vitakka vicaranam vupasama" (thoughts and evaluation have subsided). In verse, for poetic and metric matching reasons, this is often done, where you see slight variations of recognizable parts of jhana formulas. 

Evidently, B. Sujato must agree with that interpretation, because even though the word 'vitakka'  appears exactly 28 times in AN 4.11, most of those references describing akusala thoughts to be removed and replaced with kusala thoughts, B. Sujato only translates 27 of 28 of those references as 'thought', and the 28th reference (highlighted in grey in the evidence below) when that vitakka/thought is referring to second jhana, he abducts and executes 'vitakka' and replaces it with an impostor "peace of mind", completely eradicating reference to 'thought'. Educated guess: when he tried plugging his usual "placing the mind" (for vitakka of first jhana) into that line of verse, he could not come up with any coherent phrase. "loving the act of not placing the mind",  is just incomprehensible as well as linguistically awkward. 

He also translates 'rato' here as 'loving', which is just wrong, and by doing that  removes an implicit reference to piti and sukha of second jhana. 'Rato' (usually translated as enjoyment or delight), in conjunction with the 'vitakka upasame', is a poetic and super concise way of expressing standard second jhana formula's statement that one has rapture and pleasure born of samadhi in reaction to the subsiding of vitakka (thoughts, not 'placing the mind'). 

Audit of Evidence

https://suttacentral.net/an4.11/en/sujato

But one who, whether standing or walking,Yo ca caraṃ vā tiṭṭhaṃ vā,
sitting or lying down,Nisinno uda vā sayaṃ;
has calmed their thoughts,Vitakkaṃ samayitvāna,
loving peace of mind;Vitakkūpasame rato;
such a mendicant is capableBhabbo so tādiso bhikkhu,
of touching the highest awakening.”Phuṭṭhuṃ sambodhimuttaman”ti.

My version of the same sutta AN 4.11, based on B. Sujato mostly unchanged (as of yet), so you can see more context with the 27 other vitakkas in the sutta.

AN 4.11 3 wrong thoughts in all 4 postures

AN 4.11

“Carato cepi, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno uppajjati kāmavitakko vā byāpādavitakko vā vihiṃsāvitakko vā.	“monks, suppose a monk has a sensual, malicious, or cruel thought while walking.
Tañce bhikkhu adhivāseti, nappajahati na vinodeti na byantīkaroti na anabhāvaṃ gameti, carampi, bhikkhave, bhikkhu evaṃbhūto ‘anātāpī anottāpī satataṃ samitaṃ kusīto hīnavīriyo’ti vuccati.	They tolerate it and don’t give it up, get rid of it, eliminate it, and obliterate it. Such a monk is said to be ‘not keen or prudent, always lazy, and lacking energy’ when walking.

AN 4.11 one who purifies thoughts in all 4 postures capable of nirvana

AN 4.11

Caraṃ vā yadi vā tiṭṭhaṃ,	Whether walking or standing,
nisinno uda vā sayaṃ;	sitting or lying down,
Yo vitakkaṃ vitakketi,	if you think a bad thought
pāpakaṃ gehanissitaṃ.	to do with the lay life,
Kummaggappaṭipanno so,	you’re on the wrong path,
Mohaneyyesu mucchito;	lost among things that delude.
Abhabbo tādiso bhikkhu,	Such a monk is incapable
Phuṭṭhuṃ sambodhimuttamaṃ.	of touching the highest awakening.
Yo ca caraṃ vā tiṭṭhaṃ vā,	But one who, whether standing or walking,
Nisinno uda vā sayaṃ;	sitting or lying down,
vitakkaṃ samayitvāna,	has calmed their thoughts,
vitakkūpasame rato;	loving peace of mind;
Bhabbo so tādiso bhikkhu,	such a monk is capable
Phuṭṭhuṃ sambodhimuttaman”ti.	of touching the highest awakening.”

Conclusion

B. Thanissaro, with one correct translation and interpretation of the verse:

♦ vitakkaṃ samayitvāna,	overcomes thought,
Vitakk-ūpasame rato.	delighting in the stilling of thought:

Do you see the important difference here, in comparison to B. Sujato's wrong translation:

vitakkaṃ samayitvāna,	has calmed their thoughts,
vitakkūpasame rato;	loving peace of mind;

AN 4.11 and AN 4.12 is giving very specific, technical, and exacting specification of what vitakka and vicara does in  first and second jhana. B. sujato is wiping out that important instruction with his deliberate mistranslation. While "loving peace of mind" is an acceptable translation and interpretation from certain perspectives, we can not excuse B. Sujato here because he's translated all the pali nikayas, and he has consistently and systematically attempted to wipe out references to vitakka in jhana and replaced it with a completely incompatible jhana system not from the EBT (early buddhist teachings).  

In the cases where he translated vitakka of first and second jhana correctly in some of the other suttas in the nikayas, as I've shown in my audits over many years, they were either done by oversight (he didn't realize those vitakka references were to jhana), or plugging in his preferred 'placing the mind' would have been completely incomprehensible (even more incoherent than his usual mistranslation offenses, in lexical and semantic ways). 

In conclusion, where someone with a conscience and ethical translation standards might start to question themselves whether they actually have a correct interpretation of jhana and vitakka if they have to regularly translate passages with vague and tortured meanings of well established terms with incontrovertible meaning (such as vitakka), other translators are blinded by bias and true belief in their wrong views and soldier on in their mission to convert the rest of the world to their views. 

In the EBT, vitakka always means 'thought'. Take a look sometime, I've tracked every single reference to that word in the suttas, highlighted and excerpted the passages, presented on a silver platter.

explicit: every. single. reference. to vitakka in the suttas 🔗bl