FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS: ENDING THE POLITICAL CONFLICT IN SUDAN

Abstract

Objectives of this article were to analyze the context of the political conflict in Sudan, and to present an approach for applying the Four Noble Truths (Ariya Sacca). This was an integrated attempt to resolve problems arising from Lobha, greed, Dosa, hatred, and Moha, delusion. The approach was focused on shifting from vengeance to forgiveness and from violence to sustainable peace. The study’s findings were structured around the Four Noble Truths: 1. Dukkha, Suffering; The suffering was identified as the pain experienced by the people under wartime conditions, which resulted in massive losses of life, displacement, starvation, food insecurity, civilian deaths, and health/epidemic crises. 2. Samudaya, origin of Suffering; The root causes of the political conflict in Sudan were found to stem from defilements, Kilesa, Greed, Lobha The desire for power and resources, hatred, Dosa, rooted in anger, resentment, and ethnic/religious inequality, and delusion, Moha, the attachment to ideologies and identities, leading to the perception of opponents as enemies. 3. Nirodha, the cessation of suffering; the cessation of suffering was defined as the establishment of peace through compassion, Metta, the letting go of the ego, and the healing of the accumulated fear and distrust from the war. This was considered to involve the restoration of human dignity, forgiveness, acceptance of truth, and the promotion of long-term education and reduction of ethnic prejudice to build sustainable peace. 4. Magga, the path to the cessation of suffering; The Path was presented as a sustainable approach to end suffering and resolve the Sudanese conflict by applying the Eightfold Path, Atthangika-magga, as a framework for structural resolution: Right View, Samma Ditthi; Ethnic and religious understanding was promoted, and prejudice was reduced. Right Intention, Samma Sankappa; hatred and the desire for domination of power were reduced. Right Speech, Samma Vaca; hate speech and fake news were decreased. Right Action, Samma Kammanta; violence and human rights violations were ceased. Right Livelihood, Samma Ajiva; the use of state power for private gain was prevented. Right Effort, Samma Vayama; continuous peace-building was focused on, and the cycle of hatred was broken. Right Mindfulness, Samma Sati; emotional decision-making and rash behavior by leaders were mitigated and Right Concentration, Samma Samadhi; emotional balance in policy decisions was fostered.