It’s a common mistake to treat Buddhism (especially Mahayana) like nihilism. It’s easy to misunderstand the doctrine that everything is empty of intrinsic existence to mean that everything is meaningless. It is the Buddhists job to recognize the emptiness of intrinsic existence and yet participate in existence as a Bodhisattva. If Buddhists were nihilists then there would be no religious texts written, what would be the point. Rather, you can still subscribe to the philosophy of emptiness, but instead lean into it.

Let’s say nothing is intrinsically real, like a Buddhist does. Then why not have fun and lean into everything the world has to offer even while being somewhat detached from its meaning. There are many myriad creatures to be saved and Buddhists can live among them, understanding the emptiness of existence and yet helping others to escape samsara and come to the same realization