Funny that this came from you. You seems to confuse on how the Buddha came to be.Indeed, if it was so then it would make a mockery of the Buddha remembering jhana under the Apple tree as a child when according to you he'd quite recently achieved it under his two teachers.
Siddharth Gautama, when he was a young prince, was capable of doing so due to his enormous Paramitas cultivated during many many of his past lives and it is no surprise such merit will lead him to do Ānāpānassati naturally. But the prince Siddharth Gautama was not able to penetrate further.
Later, when he renounced his royal family and undergo training, there he met two teachers. Again, his merits and Paramitas found opportunity and he was able to attain what those teachers able to attain. But no more progress. At that time, these two attainments are the highest attainment.
Then, the Bodhisatta Gautama set out to investigate further and undergo various body mortification methods, but still no success in finding real escape from Samsara. Finally, under the Bodhi tree, after many years of struggle, he discovered the Middle Path by himself, and conquered the fivefold Maras.
The difference is this: Bodhisatta Gotama diverted his Jhanic concentration to investigate the realities (which is Vipassana) and by penetrating the 4NTs and Paṭiccasamuppāda, he became the Sammasambuddha.
There are numerous Suttas showed the successive training of Bhikkhus, and it is always after the Jhana attainments, then only comes the four formless attainments (not merely perceptions like what you said). And after these formless attainments, there comes the Nirodha samapatti. Now it was taught, only Anagamis and Arahants are capable of attaining Nirodha samapatti. By this, we can understand only those who fulfill four Jhanas, can proceed to the formless attainments, and subsequently Nirodha samapatti. Suttanta teaches this, Atthakatha supported it.
If that is so, go now, attain those attainments then if you can.I repeat... nowhere in the suttas is it stated that the four jhanas are required for the perceptions.
This is highly misleading and close to heretical. For the Atthakatha was originated from the Buddha & Arahants, handled down by Arahant monks via parampara system, memorised the Pitakas by heart, speaking the language and closer to the cultural understanding, not by common men.Making suttas say what is convenient or what the commentaries say they really meant is very frustrating.
On the contrary, EBT interpretation is from common men, a handful of academic writers, a few translators, and a few western/asian monks that can't even speak the Pāli language.