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Concentration

Concentrative practice vs. mainstream mindfulness

Hi all,

In the past my breath practice would be characterized by low-medium effort to stay with the breath, not near a level that would routinely lead to jhana states (as emphasized by the mainstream books I read). I am wondering what the long term effects of a low-medium level of effort vs. a high level of effort might be... has anyone practiced in both of these ways for a long period of time?

I'm sure this has been asked before but not sure what to search.

Thanks.