life after death

A guy at work who is reading my book asked me today if I believe in life after death. He can't have read far into the book yet and he seems to be sussing me out, trying to work out if I am a religious nut case or what the hell a Taoist/Vedantist/Zen/Atheist/normal bloke is.

So anyway, he asked "Do you believe in life after death?"

and I said flatly "no (laugh) .. I don't believe in life after death, reincarnation or anything related to this supposed me."

He said "What do you mean?"

I coughed a little to clear my throat for what may be a long winded path to nowhere and said "There is a universe or something, it has somehow come up with a me. This me has no life of its own, I have never done a thing, I was not born nor can I die. I just came about as one aspect of this universe thing."

(I knew I'd lost him at this point so I continued all the same)

"I can lay no independent claim to anything. Alone this body would quickly perish, this body is just some collection of ideas, this mind is nothing but ideas, remove the concepts and neither exist - their existing as separate things is itself an idea or concept, not real.

I can't live after death as I can't die as I am not born."

He walked away to do something else.