3 October, 1961 To the Honorable Alfred Wallace, Good day Mr. Wallace. You may be thinking that this letter is incorrectly dated, but I assure you that the date above is correct for…my time. But that is not important. I am writing you today to share a bit of my culture and ideas with you, in order to benefit you and your society. And I as well hope to learn a little about you and your experiences in the field of Biology, and change my culture for the better. First off, I feel it is important to explain my cultural background. I am a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, and have been so since my 23rd year under the sun. As such, I am an extremely reverent individual and believe that everyone should wholly devote himself or herself to whatever it is they find most important in life. On this note, I sadly report that at this time my President Ngo Dinh Diem has been caught corrupting the people, as well as attempting to suppress my religion. This saddens me so much to see one man discriminate against another religion when that religion is not affecting him in any way. I am considering attempting a public act in order to show the government just how much harm they are causing us, but it will have to be something big. I have to fight for what I believe in, even if it means my martyrdom. I hope this letter inspires you to back up your beliefs, and I hope to receive the same from you. -Thich Quang Duc