The 99 Club...A Story With A Life Lesson

A Presentation of a meaningful story that conveys a LIFE Lesson for Reflection.
( You might want to check out the Video Version at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pVvTsDetp0
(The Audio Narration is in Hokkien while the texts of the story are in English )

1. 1

2. 2
Once upon a time,
there lived a
King who,
despite his
luxurious
lifestyle, was
neither happy
nor content.

3. 3
One day, the King came
upon a servant who was
singing happily while he
worked. This fascinated
the King; why was he,
the Supreme Ruler of
the Land, unhappy and
gloomy, while a lowly
servant had so much joy
in his heart?

4. 4
Servant!
Tell me, why are
you so happy?

5. 5
Your Majesty, I am
nothing but a servant,
but my family and I don't
need too much -just a
roof over our heads and
warm food to fill our
tummies.

6. 6
Later in the day, the King
sought the advice of his
most trusted advisor.
After hearing the King's
woes and the servant's
story, the advisor said,
"Your Majesty, I believe
that the servant has not
been made part of
The 99 Club."

7. 7
CLUB 99? The 99 Club?
And what
exactly is
that?

8. 8
The advisor
replied, "Your
Majesty, to truly
know what The 99
Club is, place 99
Gold coins in a
bag and leave it at
this servant's
doorstep."

9. 9
When the servant saw the bag, he took it
into his house. When he opened the bag,
he let out a great shout of joy... so many
gold coins! He began to count them.

10. 10
After several counts, he was at last
convinced that there were 99 coins. He
wondered, "What could've happened to
that last gold coin? Surely, no one would
leave 99 coins!" He looked everywhere he
could, but that final coin was elusive.

11. 11
??? 100
th
Coin?
Finally, exhausted, he
decided that he was going
to have to work harder
than ever to earn that gold
coin and complete his
collection. From that day,
the servant's life was
changed. He was
overworked, horribly
grumpy, and scolded his
family for not helping him
make that 100th gold coin.
He stopped singing while
he worked.

12. 12
Witnessing this
drastic
transformation, the
King was puzzled.
When he sought his
advisor's help, the
advisor said, "Your
Majesty, the servant
has now officially
joined The 99 Club."

13. 13
The Adviser continued,
"The 99 Club is a name
given to those people
who have enough to be
happy but are never
contented, because
they're always yearning
and striving for that
extra 1 to round it out
to 100!

14. 14
We can be happy, even with very little
in our lives, but the minute we're
given something bigger and better,
we want even more!
GREED sets in and with this
mental defilement comes
much Dukkha or suffering.
Reflections

15. 15
We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt
the people around us; all these as a price for
our growing greed and desires. That's what
joining The 99 Clubis all about."—
This is indeed very foolish because the
worldly possessions or wealth are transient
and we cannot bring them with us when we
die … and death can happen at any time.
The Wise Ones KNOW that our true Wealth is
our Kamma and Dhamma realized. This will
follow us from life to life.

16. 16
The End
Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the
greatest wealth, a trusted friend is the best
relative, Nibbana is the greatest bliss.
The BuddhaDhammapada Verse 204
May we all practice
The Noble 8-Fold Path very diligently.
This is the Way that leads to the end of
suffering and misery.
With Metta,
Bro. Oh Teik Bin