(Minghui.org) I was surprised when I heard that some practitioners are investing in and/or mining, a virtual currency called Pi. All one needs to do is download an app and click it daily to mine for this virtual currency.

The individual doesn’t need to invest anything in this specific currency. One just has to wait until the currency goes public and then the Pi “money” one has mined can be exchanged for actual money.

Ordinary people who are intelligent know that this is illusory, uncertain, and even deceptive. As a practitioner who has to get rid of all sorts of attachments, how can he or she be enticed by such a thing?

As far as cryptocurrencies themselves are concerned, after Bitcoin became famous, people came up with many similar currencies. Aside from Pi, there is Ethereum, Dogecoin, Binance Coin, and many others.

People have hyped them up, causing their prices to fluctuate. Some think they’ve found a good opportunity—buy low, sell high, and make big money.

The main problem with cryptocurrencies is that there is no anchor for their value. There is no way to evaluate them.

Also, there are too many cryptocurrency platforms. Anyone with a bit of knowledge can develop a new platform. The most recently developed cryptocurrencies have no value at all.

The third problem is that there are no legal restrictions on the platform. Many platforms vanished right after they made money. The organizers took the money and ran.

Many countries have declared cryptocurrencies illegal. However, they cannot control the issue because there are too many of them.

Cryptocurrencies do not have intrinsic value and are usually marketed as a pyramid scheme. Assume a unit of a cryptocurrency is sold for one dollar. If ten thousand people join the game, there will suddenly be ten thousand dollars created out of nothing. It is like air: You can have as much as you want. There is no real substance to support it.

Things with real value do not need to pull people in to join. When someone finds a gold mine, the fewer people who know about it, the more each one benefits. If thousands come to dig, there won’t be any gold left. So, when cryptocurrencies try to pull in as many people as possible, it must be a scam they are trying to con you into.

Some practitioners argued that they won’t be deceived since they did not invest anything. These people are exactly the targets. Actually, it is impossible not to invest.

You are not asked for money at first. But when they give you the coin, each coin has a value of 100 yuan, and you can buy one of these coins for 10 yuan. Won’t you be greedy and pay that instead of mining for it?

Won’t you regret it if the value of each coin later drops to one yuan? What is the difference between this and betting on stocks or gambling? Doesn’t your heart fluctuate with the rise and fall of the price?

From a cultivation point of view, some practitioners indeed need money because they have been persecuted financially. But this is not a proper channel through which to earn money.

One should earn money through one’s own effort and not gain without paying for it. Some practitioners argue that clicking the app daily to mine for the currency is putting in an effort. This is one way the conman cons you. They find the simplest thing that anyone can do, something that requires the least effort, so that you get a sense of accomplishment.

Some practitioners use the excuse that they are mining this cryptocurrency to make money for Dafa. Master has been very clear on this issue. To put it simply, it is practitioners who will not give up their attachment to self-interest.

There is a saying among ordinary people: “Meat pies might fall from the sky,” meaning that one can gain without making an effort. There are always people who think they are lucky: What if meat pies do fall from the sky?

It is not possible to get something for “free,” as one will have to trade one’s de (virtue) for everything they have. Knowing this, would you want to trade your de for this cryptocurrency?

Master said,

“This applies to each and every Dafa disciple: if you were not a Dafa disciple today, you would have been one of the world’s big tycoons, with loads of money. That’s because if you weren’t a Dafa disciple, your mighty virtue—the massive virtue that you brought with you—could have been exchanged for a large amount of wealth. And that holds true for all of you. But you gave up that wealth when you made a conscious decision to be a Dafa disciple. You wanted to be a Dafa disciple, and you gave up those things. You actively made that decision, of your own will. And yet now you are stashing away that little bit of money that comes your way. How are you going to repay it? Today at this critical moment in history, with every penny and every little [thing], what’s being revealed is your realm, your state of mind, and your attachments as a cultivator, as well as whether you can achieve consummation or not. (Master pauses) What’s going to become of you?” (“Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)

Every one of us could be a big tycoon if we did not choose to be a practitioner. But, do we want to be a practitioner or a tycoon?

What to choose is an issue of value for an ordinary person, but for a practitioner, it is an issue of whether one gives up one’s attachment. Now, the time we have left to save sentient beings is so urgent—how can we waste the time and energy to deal with these things that have no place in a normal society?

I want to urge those practitioners who participate in such activities to give up the idea of getting rich quickly. One can by no means expect to be lucky, as everything is given to us by Master. You are only deceiving yourself by messing with these things.

A cultivator should earn money and make a living through normal work. Fa-rectification is already in its final phase. The evil old forces are doing everything they can to pull people down.

Fellow practitioners must be alert and not fall for these tricks. Walk well every step of the way. That way one will not be indebted to Master, and one will also leave a path for the future mankind to follow.