Wishing everyone good health and be safe from the harm of all illnesses.

May all be well and happy was a verse I learnt from loving kindness meditation.

It is an expression of goodwill towards ourselves and others. A heartfelt wish that suffering no longer exist and all sentient beings experience happiness.

At the basic level, when we say., “may you be well and happy”. It means may you be well and happy with your physical situation. Your body be healthy, you have sufficient clothing and food. You have shelter. Your environment is safe. There is no plague or war. So on and so forth.

Next, the meaning of well and happy is our emotional state. We wish all beings well and happy emotionally. We think about happy moments and happy situation where people are smiling and having a good time. For example, in a happy party, food and drinks abundant, nice environment, happy people. It is easily relatable. At this stage, we understand happiness as being dependent on the environment. I taught students to visualise happy moments of their love ones when they do loving kindness meditation. This is because it can be easily understood.

So when we say may you be well and happy, it is a heartfelt good will, wishing everybody, physical and emotional well being.

Next, as we practice mind training and meditation, we have a better understanding of the happiness taught by Buddha. May you be well and happy, is the absence of craving, aversion and ignorance. Our goodwill and wishes, is for beings to develop wisdom and have true happiness.

Next, if we practice chanting, we can combine our goodwill with our mantra,

In our daily moment, when we are mindful of our mantra, spontaneously also generate a heartfelt goodwill that resonate or surround us. At work, in the train or bus, walking on the sidewalk, we say our mantra and have this sense of goodwill in our heart, (May all be well and happy)

Stay calm and wise. Keep safe and be mindful of hygiene.

May all be well and happy.