Are is the second-person plural of the verb to be.

In the old days gifts of money were given to children by the older generation and were placed in red envelopes called hong bao. This practice has been discouraged by the Communists because it perpetuates feudal-capitalist consciousness, the worship of wealth and money.

Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge,[…]

What I said yesterday still stands.