Hi Lal,
Sorry, I have inserted the links to the sutta’s and pali sections to my earlier post and added some new content as well.
The sutta’s mention that one needs to abstain from akusala and kama to get to the first jhana (vivicca kamehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi). And as you mention, abstaining does not mean complete removal.
This corresponds with the Kama Sutta (https://suttacentral.net/mnd1/pli/ms), where it is mentioned that kama is suppressed while in the first jhana upto nevasanna na sanna. In the same way it is mentioned that kama could be suppressed by using (bhaventopi) the buddhanussati and anapanasati etc. So we cannot come to the conclusion that this is referring to an anariya jhana.
Pali: Buddhānussatiṃ bhāventopi vikkhambhanato kāme parivajjeti, dhammānussatiṃ bhāventopi … pe … …. ānāpānassatiṃ bhāventopi … upa¬sa¬mānus¬sa¬tiṃ bhāventopi vikkhambhanato kāme parivajjeti.
Paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ bhāventopi vikkhambhanato kāme parivajjeti … pe … dutiyaṃ jhānaṃ bhāventopi … … neva¬saññā¬nā¬saññāya¬tana¬samā¬pattiṃ bhāventopi vikkhambhanato kāme parivajjeti. Evaṃ vikkhambhanato kāme parivajjeti.
In the Mahavedalla Sutta (https://suttacentral.net/mn43/pli/ms) it is mentioned that the pancanivarana are removed.
Pali: Paṭhamaṃ kho, āvuso, jhānaṃ pañcaṅ¬ga¬vippa¬hīnaṃ, pañcaṅ¬ga¬saman¬nā¬gataṃ. Idhāvuso, paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ samāpannassa bhikkhuno kāmacchando pahīno hoti, byāpādo pahīno hoti, thinamiddhaṃ pahīnaṃ hoti, uddhac¬ca¬kukkuc¬caṃ pahīnaṃ hoti, vicikicchā pahīnā hoti;
In the naga sutta (https://suttacentral.net/pi/an9.40) it is mentioned that one gets to the first jhana by removing panca nivarana and abstaining from kama.
So ime pañca nīvaraṇe pahāya cetaso upakkilese paññāya dubbalīkaraṇe vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati.
In the Jhana Sutta (https://suttacentral.net/an9.36/pli/ms) it is mentioned that if one does not complete the removal of āsava, while in the first jhana, he would remove the first five samyōjana because of the dhamma raga and dhamma nandiya and thus will be born opapatika (in brahma loka) and attain pariNibbāna there, and will not return to this world.
Pali: evamevaṃ kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi … pe … paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati. So yadeva tattha hoti rūpagataṃ vedanāgataṃ saññāgataṃ saṅkhāragataṃ viññāṇagataṃ, te dhamme aniccato dukkhato rogato gaṇḍato sallato aghato ābādhato parato palokato suññato anattato samanupassati. So tehi dhammehi cittaṃ paṭivāpeti. So tehi dhammehi cittaṃ paṭivāpetvā amatāya dhātuyā cittaṃ upasaṃharati: ‘etaṃ santaṃ etaṃ paṇītaṃ yadidaṃ sabba¬saṅ¬khā¬ra¬sama-tho sabbū¬padhipa¬ṭi¬nissaggo taṇhākkhayo virāgo nirodho nibbānan’ti. So tattha ṭhito āsavānaṃ khayaṃ pāpuṇāti. No ce āsavānaṃ khayaṃ pāpuṇāti, teneva dhammarāgena tāya dhammanandiyā pañcannaṃ orambhāgiyānaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā opapātiko hoti tattha parinibbāyī anāvattidhammo tasmā lokā. ‘Paṭhamampāhaṃ, bhikkhave, jhānaṃ nissāya āsavānaṃ khayaṃ vadāmī’ti, iti yaṃ taṃ vuttaṃ, idametaṃ paṭicca vuttaṃ.
In addition the anupubbaviharasamapatti sutta (https://suttacentral.net/pi/an9.33) mentions that kama is repeatedly stopped while being in the first jhana.
idhāvuso, bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati. Ettha kāmā nirujjhanti, te ca kāme nirodhetvā nirodhetvā viharantī’ti.
If vivicca kamehi meant that kama is completely removed then it doesn’t need to be mentioned again that kama will not arise (nirodha, nirujjanti etc.).
In Tapussagahapati Sutta (https://suttacentral.net/an9.41/pli/ms) it is mentioned that in the first jhana one will get kama sanna and that the kama sanna is a hindrance.
So kho ahaṃ, ānanda, vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharāmi. Tassa mayhaṃ, ānanda, iminā vihārena viharato kāmasahagatā sañ¬ñāmana¬sikārā samudācaranti. Svassa me hoti ābādho.
So based on these sutta’s my conclusion is as follows:
One needs to eliminate the panca nivarana (be a sotapanna) and abstain from kama and akusala dhamma, to get to the first arya jhana. While in the first arya jhana one should contemplate on the anicca, dukka, anatta nature etc. Through this method he can attain nibbana. So it is not absolutely necessary to get to higher jhana to attain nibbana, if one is to attain nibbana through jhana. If one does not attain nibbana through practicing this method because of his liking to the dhamma (dhamma nandiya, dhamma ragaya) he will eliminate orambagiya samyojana and become an anagami.