AN 8.30 Great thoughts, thoughts of great man, thing-able, (de-)touch-able for everyone? (thinking in first jhāna)

If we read the later part of AN 8.30, we will find that this is targeted at monks (bhikkhus) and not lay followers.

For example:

“When it was said: ‘This Dhamma is for one who is content, not for one who is discontent,’ with reference to what was this said? Here, a bhikkhu is content with any kind of robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and provisions for the sick. When it was said: ‘This Dhamma is for one who is content, not for one who is discontent,’ it is with reference to this that this was said.

“When it was said: ‘This Dhamma is for one who resorts to solitude, not for one who delights in company,’ with reference to what was this said? Here, when a bhikkhu resorts to solitude, bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, male lay followers, female lay followers, kings, royal ministers, heads of other sects, and disciples belonging to other sects approach him. In each case, with a mind that slants, slopes, and inclines to seclusion, withdrawn, delighting in renunciation, he gives them a talk invariably concerned with dismissing them. When it was said: ‘This Dhamma is for one who resorts to solitude, not for one who delights in company,’ it is with reference to this that this was said.
AN 8.30

There is further indication below that this is targeted at monks (bhikkhus) and not lay followers.

“When you reflect upon these eight thoughts of a great person and gain at will … these four jhānas … then, while you dwell contentedly, your scraps of almsfood will seem to you as a dish of rice cleaned of black grains and served with many gravies and curries seems to a householder or a householder’s son; and they will serve for your delight, relief, and ease, and for entering upon nibbāna.

“When you reflect upon these eight thoughts of a great person and gain at will … these four jhānas … then, while you dwell contentedly, your dwelling place at the foot of a tree will seem to you as a house with a peaked roof, plastered inside and out, draft-free, with bolts fastened and shutters closed, seems to a householder or a householder’s son; and it will serve for your delight, relief, and ease, and for entering upon nibbāna.

“When you reflect upon those eight thoughts of a great person and gain at will … these four jhānas … then, while you dwell contentedly, your bed and seat made of straw will seem to you as a couch spread with rugs, blankets, and covers, with an excellent covering of antelope hide, with a canopy above and red bolsters at both ends, seems to a householder or a householder’s son; and it will serve for your delight, relief, and ease, and for entering upon nibbāna.

“When you reflect upon these eight thoughts of a great person and gain at will … these four jhānas … then, while you dwell contentedly, your medicine of fermented cow’s urine will seem to you as various medicaments of ghee, butter, oil, honey, and molasses seem to a householder or a householder’s son; and it will serve for your delight, relief, and ease, and for entering upon nibbāna.
AN 8.30

So, does this mean that the Dhamma is only for monks and not for lay followers? Does this mean anybody who is interested in Buddhism MUST eventually become monks?

No. Definitely not.

There is the duality of the path according to MN 117.

There is Right View with effluents for lay persons and the Noble Right View for monks. Similarly, for Right Speech, Right Livelihood etc. there's the version with effluents and the version which is noble.

What is Right Livelihood for lay persons for e.g. carrying out the business of a merchant selling clothes, or the profession of a doctor, for example, is not Right Livelihood for monks. The former is with effluents. The latter is the noble version.

"And what is right view? Right view, I tell you, is of two sorts: There is right view with effluents, siding with merit, resulting in acquisitions [of becoming]; there is right view that is noble, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path.

"And what is the right view with effluents, siding with merit, resulting in acquisitions? 'There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. There is this world & the next world. There is mother & father. There are spontaneously reborn beings; there are contemplatives & brahmans who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.' This is the right view with effluents, siding with merit, resulting in acquisitions.

"And what is the right view that is noble, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path? The discernment, the faculty of discernment, the strength of discernment, analysis of qualities as a factor for awakening, the path factor of right view1 in one developing the noble path whose mind is noble, whose mind is without effluents, who is fully possessed of the noble path. This is the right view that is noble, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path.
MN 117

So, does this mean that the study of the Dhamma and the practise of meditation is only for monks?

No. That's not true. The Buddha told Anathapindika and 500 other lay followers to practise the meditation leading to jhana, when they can find free time. He did not tell them to become monks.

He said their charity towards monks is commendable but they shouldn't think that this is the only thing they should do as householders. They should also practise meditation and reflect on the teachings.

Then Anathapindika the householder, surrounded by about 500 lay followers, went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there the Blessed One said to him, "Householder, you have provided the community of monks with robes, alms food, lodgings, & medicinal requisites for the sick, but you shouldn't rest content with the thought, 'We have provided the community of monks with robes, alms food, lodgings, & medicinal requisites for the sick.' So you should train yourself, 'Let's periodically enter & remain in seclusion & rapture.' That's how you should train yourself."
Piti Sutta (AN 5.176)

Renowned sutta scholar Piya Tan wrote in his commentary on Piti Sutta that:

Until recently (even up to the late 20th century), there is a common wrong view that spiritual training, especially mental cultivation or meditation, is only the domain of the monastic. The laity merely makes merit by serving and supporting the monastics. However, it is clear from the Pīti Sutta here that spiritual development by way of mental cultivation is just as important for the laity.

Sometimes, monks like Devadatta (Iti 89) or Sati (MN 38) are wrong teachers and a lay householder like Citta (SN 41.5) is the right teacher.

One of the monks that Citta taught, by the name of Ven. Kamabhu, said:

“You’re fortunate, householder, so very fortunate, to traverse the Buddha’s deep teachings with the eye of wisdom.”
SN 41.5

Many lay followers attained stream entry in the stories of the suttas.

So, while the path of the monk is superior to the path of the lay follower, and is in fact, the noble path, but the path of the lay follower is definitely existing and is legitimate.

And the lay follower is not just meant to provide alms to monks, but is also meant to study the Dhamma and practise it to the extent that is possible to him. Of course, he can also choose to become a monk later if he wants to, but this is not mandatory.

It's as though the monk is like the full time professional practitioner, like a full time professional football player. And the lay person is the casual practitioner, like someone who plays football casually in his free time.

We cannot tell the casual football player that he cannot play football at all, just because he is not a full time professional football player.

What is important is that we shouldn't waste our precious time, and do the best that we can, as the Dhammapada says:

Those who in youth have not led the holy life, or have failed to acquire wealth, languish like old cranes in the pond without fish.

Those who in youth have not lead the holy life, or have failed to acquire wealth, lie sighing over the past, like worn out arrows (shot from) a bow.
Dhammapada 155 - 156

Good householder Frank, maybe:

First, a not yet completely great person would think:

(1) ‘This Dhamma is for one of few-desires, not for one of many-desires. (2) This Dhamma is for one who is content, not for one who is dis-content. (3) This Dhamma is for one who is reclusive, not for one who who delights-in-social-gathering. (4) This Dhamma is for one of aroused-vigor, not for one who is lazy. (5) This Dhamma is for one who has established-mindfulness, not for one of muddled-mindfulness. (6) This Dhamma is for one who is concentrated, not for one who is un-concentrated. (7) This Dhamma is for one endowed with discernment, not for one of dubious-discernment.’

and as possible being made aware or get aware himself, that having fallen into the Papanca-trap (composed out of the three papanca-dhammas: view, graving, conceit) in all cases for himself, cutting him off from Noble attainments, remembers the 8. and takes the first without slippering away by papanca by heart, gotten back on right attention, track, ye way of practice of a Noble One:

(8) ‘This Dhamma is for one who enjoys non-proliferation-[of-objectification],-1- who delights in non-proliferation, not-for-one who enjoys & delights in proliferation-[of-objectification].’

(it's importand not to let go of thoughts till the highest release, thoughtless acts will otherwise remain)

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