Buddha (Fo)

The word Buddha in Sanskrit was translated as 佛陀耶 (Fótuó yé) in Chinese. The Chinese like simplicity, as a result, only the first word "fo" was used to refer to Buddha. Buddha, or Fo, means an enlighten being - A person who understands the true nature of life and the universe.
He has reached supreme perfection both in self-realization and in helping others to attain realization. With his help, we are able to transcend from suffering to happiness. The innumerable Buddhas are not gods to be worshipped but compassionate and wise beings to be respected and emulated.

Filial Piety (xiao)

This character is made up of two words, lau (老 old, or aged) on top of zi (子 young, or offspring). Lau refers to our parents, zi refers to ourselves. There is a bond between the two.
The word also signifies infinite past and infinite future: before us there are our parents, grandparents and so on. Looking into the future, there are our children, grandchildren...
A child's duty is to be filial. It is not only limited to physical and mental care of one's parents. The ultimate filial piety is for us to achieve enlightenment ourselves, that is, to fully understand the true nature of the universe. Our parents will also, by virtue of our achievement, blessed with peace and happiness.
Hence, the foundation of Buddhism is built on filial piety.

Money (qian)

"Qian" means money. It consists of 3 words - gold on the left and two daggers on the right. Having money means we are accepting gold and danger at the same time. One follows the other like the shadow following our body.
The ancient Chinese were very cleaver to create the word money with two daggers. It reminds us not to be greedy and not to show off our possessions. There is a saying in Chinese "Possessions are not to be seen by others"

to Think (xiang)

Xiang, that means, to think. It is made up of two words, the heart (心), and an image (相) of our thought.
You might have heard of this expression "use your brain to think!" and "a good hearted person". Who is the mastermind? The heart or the brain? Is the act of kindness or compassion directed by our heart or our mind?
The character Xiang tells us that we think with our heart. While we are thinking, whether we are aware of it or not, an image, or, impression will arise in our mind and as normal human beings, we will react to this image Therefore, we should always keep our heart pure. If we think of kindness, our speech and action will naturally be kind and peaceful. If we think of evil, they will be mean and nasty.

to Endure (ren)

"Ren" means to endure. It is made up of two words, knife and heart: The knife is sitting on top of our heart.
It means when we practice endurance, we will suffer acute agony as if our heart is stabbed by a knife, however, we still have to persist. The more we can endure, the greater our achievements will be. There is a saying in Chinese: Gold is form from incalculable endurance.

to Recite (nian)

This character is pronounced as "nian". It means to recite or to read aloud.
Nian consists of two chinese characters: "now" or "at the present" (今), and "the heart" (心). Combining these two characters tells us that to recite, the heart must be here and now. The presence of mind is most important. Let the heart "listens" to every word we read or recite. And, gently bring it back when it wanders!