Mettā — Good Will for All Life

本週重點

Overview

💬 English Goal

英文目標

Use the well-wishing pattern “May you be happy and healthy” and “I send love to…” to name the people you care for. Learn kind-heart vocabulary: loving-kindness, good will, universal, recipient, and the Pali word Mettā.

用祝福句型「May you be happy and healthy（願你快樂又健康）」和「I send love to…（我把愛送給…）」來說出你所關心的人。學習慈心相關的詞彙：loving-kindness（慈愛）、good will（善意）、universal（普遍的、無所不包的）、recipient（接受者），還有巴利文 Mettā（慈）。

🪷 Spiritual Goal

佛學／心靈目標

Understand Mettā (Loving-Kindness) as good will — wishing others well. See that love is universal and crosses every boundary, and practice a daily guided meditation to strengthen the “good-will muscle.”

了解「慈」（Mettā，慈愛）就是善意（good will）──祝願別人安好。明白愛是普遍的、能跨越每一道界線，並每天練習一段引導式禪修，來鍛鍊這塊「善意的肌肉」。

單字 Vocabulary

點 🔊 聽發音

聽、跟著念、大聲說三次。

loving-kindness(n.)	慈悲／仁愛
Mettā(n.)	慈心
good will(n.)	善意
universal(adj.)	普遍的
recipient(n.)	接受者
healthy(adj.)	健康的
interconnected(adj.)	相互依存的

句型 Sentence Patterns

Key Patterns

Pattern 1 · Wishing someone well

May you be ___.

May you be happy and healthy. May you be happy and healthy.（願你快樂又健康。）

May you be safe and peaceful. May you be safe and peaceful.（願你平安又安詳。）

May all beings be happy. May all beings be happy.（願一切眾生都快樂。）

Pattern 2 · Naming who you love

I send love to ___.

I send love to my family. I send love to my family.（我把愛送給我的家人。）

I send love to my classmates and to the animals. I send love to my classmates and to the animals.（我把愛送給我的同學和動物們。）

Pattern 3 · What I am doing now (present continuous)

I am sending ___.

I am sending good will to everyone on Earth. I am sending good will to everyone on Earth.（我正把善意送給地球上的每一個人。）

I am breathing slowly and sending kindness from my heart. I am breathing slowly and sending kindness from my heart.（我正緩緩地呼吸，從心裡送出善意。）

✏️ Grammar Focus · “May you…” & the present continuous

The modal verb “may” is used to make a gentle wish for someone: May you be happy. We do not add -s after may. We also use the present continuous (am / is / are + verb-ing) to say what is happening right now: I am sending love.

情態動詞 may 用來為某人許下溫柔的祝願：May you be happy.（願你快樂。）我們不會在 may 後面加 -s。我們也用現在進行式（am／is／are + 動詞-ing）來說現在正在發生的事：I am sending love.（我正在送出愛。）

故事 The Story

Story

Imagine the kindness in your heart as a small, warm light. （想像你心中的慈愛是一道溫暖的光。） When you practice Mettā, that light grows brighter and spreads outward in circles of love.

想像你心中的慈愛是一道小小的、溫暖的光。當你練習慈心（Mettā）時，那道光會變得更亮，並向外擴散成一圈圈的愛（circles of love）。

The first circle is the smallest — it is you. You say, “May I be happy and healthy.” You cannot give away a light you do not first hold. The next circle is your family, then your friends and classmates, then the animals and all of nature.

第一圈是最小的──就是你自己。你說：「願我快樂又健康。」你無法把自己還沒握住的光送給別人。下一圈是你的家人，然後是你的朋友和同學，再來是動物和整個大自然。

The last circle is the biggest of all: everyone on Earth — even strangers, and even people we find hard to like. （甚至包括陌生人，以及我們不喜歡的人。） Mettā is universal, because our happiness and the happiness of all beings are interconnected. Loving-kindness is for everybody.

最後一圈是最大的一圈：地球上的每一個人──甚至包括陌生人，以及我們不喜歡的人。慈是普遍的（universal），因為我們的快樂和一切眾生的快樂是彼此相連的。慈愛是給每一個人的。

🤔 Check your understanding

Who is in the very first circle of love? 第一個愛的圈圈裡是誰？
Why does the last circle include people we don’t like? 為什麼最後一個圈圈也包含我們不喜歡的人？
What does it mean that love is “universal”? 愛是「普遍的」是什麼意思？

佛法小品 The Principle

Principle

In the guided meditation, place your hand on your heart and repeat: “May you be happy, may you be healthy.” Then think about how good will can be trained, like a muscle, a little every day.

在引導式禪修中，把手放在心口上，反覆默念：「願你快樂，願你健康。」然後想一想，善意是可以被鍛鍊的，就像肌肉一樣，每天練一點點。

🌟 Good Will, a Friendly Heart 善意的友善心

Mettā is not only a feeling — it is a steady attitude of friendliness toward all life. When we stop harming others (Ahimsa), we fill that space with active kindness. Through Bhāvanā (training the mind), we make the heart used to producing kind thoughts. The more you practice loving-kindness, the stronger your good-will muscle grows — and you learn to rejoice in the happiness of every living being.

慈（Mettā）不只是一種感覺──它是對一切生命持續保持友善的一種態度。當我們停止傷害他人（Ahimsa，不害），就用主動的善良把那個空間填滿。透過修習（Bhāvanā，訓練心），我們讓這顆心習慣生起善的念頭。你愈練習慈愛，你的善意肌肉就長得愈強壯──你也學會為每一個生命的快樂而隨喜。

練習 Practice

Homework

For the next 7 days, do the “Hand on Heart” meditation for 2 minutes each morning, then write one journal line. Choose the tier that fits you. 每天早上練習兩分鐘，再寫下慈心日記。

Beginner 入門

One sentence

Ages 5–8 · new learners

Write 1 sentence naming today’s recipient: “Today, I sent love to ______.” Then say the wish out loud.

寫 1 個句子，說出今天的接受者：「Today, I sent love to ______.（今天，我把愛送給了 ______。）」然後把這個祝願大聲說出來。

ExampleToday, I sent love to my mom. I said: “May you be happy and healthy.”

Intermediate 中級

3–4 sentences

Ages 9–12 · developing fluency

Write 3–4 sentences. Name two recipients from different circles, use “I send love to…”, and add the “May you be…” wish.

寫 3 到 4 個句子。說出兩位來自不同圈圈的接受者，用「I send love to…」，並加上「May you be…」的祝願。

ExampleToday, I sent love to my family and to the street cats. I send love to people I have never met. May you all be happy and healthy.

Advanced 進階

5+ sentences

Ages 13–16 · fluent speakers

Write 5+ sentences. Include someone you find difficult to like, explain why love is universal, and reflect on how good will is interconnected with your own happiness.

寫 5 個以上的句子。包含一個你覺得難以喜歡的人，解釋為什麼愛是普遍的，並反思善意如何與你自己的快樂彼此相連。

ExampleToday I am sending good will to a classmate I argued with. Although it is hard, I know my peace and his peace are interconnected. May you be safe; may you be peaceful.

小考 Mini Quiz

Check Yourself

選出最適合的答案，點選後會看到解析。

Question 1 of 10

What does the Pali word Mettā mean?

Correct: B. Mettā (慈心) is the Buddhist word for loving-kindness — a heart of good will toward all life.

Question 2 of 10

Finish the wish: “May you ___ happy and healthy.”

Correct: C. After “May you…” we use the base verb be: “May you be happy and healthy.”

Question 3 of 10

Which sentence correctly names who you care for?

Correct: A. The pattern is “I send love to ___.” Don’t forget the word to.

Question 4 of 10

“Good will” means…

Correct: D. Good will (善意) is the warm wish that others be well and happy.

Question 5 of 10

If love is universal , it is for…

Correct: C. Universal (普遍的) means for everybody — even strangers and people we find hard to like.

Question 6 of 10

A recipient is…

Correct: A. A recipient (接受者) is the one who receives — here, the person you send your loving-kindness to.

Question 7 of 10

In the Circles of Love, who is in the very first circle?

Correct: D. The first circle is you. You cannot give away a light you do not first hold.

Question 8 of 10

Choose the correct present-continuous sentence.

Correct: B. Present continuous = am / is / are + verb-ing: “I am sending good will.”

Question 9 of 10

During the meditation, where do you place your hand?

Correct: C. You place your hand on your heart and repeat, “May you be happy, may you be healthy.”

Question 10 of 10

Why does the Teacher’s Note say loving-kindness is “like schoolwork”?

Correct: A. Good will is like a muscle — through daily practice (Bhāvanā), the heart grows stronger at producing kind thoughts.

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