Here it is relevant to inquire into the Buddhist concept of prosperity and happiness. The Kûtadantasutta (25) spells it out in the following words: "When there is peace in the country in the absence of crime and violence, people live happily, rejoicing and playing with their children with hardly a care about keeping doors locked." Simple joys of family life, freedom from want and anxiety, and the confidence born of the security of life and property constitute happiness and prosperity according to the Buddhist point of view. This is in obvious contrast to the modern concept where affluence and consumerism are essential characteristics of happiness and prosperity. But experience has shown that this philosophy of having more and more hardly leads to happiness. Limiting wants and restraining consumption lead to contentment according to Buddhism. What contributes to man’s happiness in the long run is not the philosophy ‘to have’, but the philosophy ‘to be’.