I have been reflecting on the Poṭṭhapāda Sutta, and the section below has perturbed me a little:
Specifically the Buddha describing a mendicant being "aware that 'there is nothing at all,'" which seems like such a stark endorsement of nihilism. I am generally aware that the Buddha denied nihilism in general, and that often the subtle term "sunyata" is clumsily interpreted as meaning "nothing," but here it is very difficult to see what the Buddha could possibly mean besides that nihilism is the correct viewpoint.“Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing at all’, enters and remains in the dimension of nothingness. The subtle and true perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness that they had previously ceases. At that time they have a subtle and true perception of the dimension of nothingness. That’s how, with training, certain perceptions arise and certain perceptions cease. And this is that training,” said the Buddha.
I am quite a beginner when it comes to Buddhism, and am rather confident that I have interpreted this section incorrectly, but I have had great difficulty seeing how. It does not appear to me, for example, that the Buddha was describing a false view, which I mistakenly interpreted as an endorsement. I'm not totally convinced of the possibility that he is discussing sunyata, because of that emphatic "there is nothing at all." If someone pointed to this sutta as proof that the Buddha endorsed nihilism, or that Buddhism is nihilistic, I would not know how on earth to counter the assertion.
Could there be a translation issue here? I read the sutta at https://suttacentral.net/dn9/en/sujato
Thank you for any clarification you can offer me!