[agent531c]

This is almost exactly the path I went down as well, except on a shorter timeline.

However, I believe Zen Buddhism is one of the more ritualistic versions, as opposed to 'Secular Buddhism', which removes the spiritual aspect for a more personal philosophical take on some of the core principals.

A couple of the principals of Secular Buddhism resonate with me in particular:

- Karma is not some metaphysical storage of actions, but instead just consequences. If you constantly speed everywhere, eventually you'll probably end up with a ticket - Thats your "karma" (consequences) of your own actions you chose to take.

- Rebirth is instead interpreted as the rebirth of the self, in that each living moment you are not the same person you were a moment ago. The idea is that in striving to be a better person, you are 'reborn' as a better version of yourself in each moment which compounds over time. Almost like the "1% rule" where your goal is to be 1% better in some aspect than you were yesterday.