What is the difference between 自然【しぜん】 and 自然【じねん】?

Question

これがひとり飲【の】みだと、自然【しぜん】と自分【じぶん】と向【む】き合【あ】う時間【じかん】ができる(source)
When you drink alone, you naturally have time to face yourself.

When I looked up the vocabulary in this sentence in WWWJDIC, the English definitions do not suggest a great difference in meaning between 【しぜん】 and 【じねん】:

自然 【しぜん】 (n) (1) nature; (adj-na,n) (2) natural; spontaneous; automatic; (adv,adv-to) (3) naturally; spontaneously; automatically; (P); 【じねん】 ; (n,adv) occurring naturally (without human influence)

On Goo, there are many more entries and examples with the reading 【しぜん】, but there is also this

じ‐ねん【自然】 の解説
１ （「に」や「と」を伴って副詞的に用いる）おのずからそうであること。ひとりでにそうなること。
Explanation of "ji-nen" (natural)
1 (used adverbially with "ni" or "to") To be naturally so. To be naturally so.

If I understand both the WWWJDIC and Goo entries, it seems that 自然 + と should produce this reading:

これがひとり飲【の】みだと、自然【じねん】と自分【じぶん】と向【む】き合【あ】う時間【じかん】ができる

In summary, if 自然 stands all by itself, it is read 【しぜん】, but if 自然 is followed by と, it is read 【じねん】. Is my understanding correct?

Answer 1

You're probably reading a bit too much into this. 自然【しぜん】 is the reading of the word for almost all modern contexts. The reading じねん is mostly only used when reading Buddhist texts. If you google 自然 しぜん じねん 違い, you get some articles that say about the same thing. (ギモン雑学, Hinative, Gogen Yurai)

There is also a Wikipedia section about じねん. Again, it seems like it is only being used in the context of buddhism. Here is an excerpt:

自然（じねん）とは、万物が現在あるがままに存在しているものであり、因果によって生じたのではないとする無因論のこと。仏教の因果論を否定し、仏教から見た外道の思想のひとつである。

It seems to refer to the idea that all things inherently exist the way they are, and are unaffected by the relationships of karma. It is a way of thinking that is condemned within buddhism.