Plant Doctor Cai Dongzuan Sees Agriculture as Ecological Justice, Helping Farmers Become Bodhisattvas of the Land

"As long as you speak up, he will come. As long as you are willing to learn, he will teach you everything he knows."
"To me, he is both teacher and father, very close to us small farmers."

When farmers bring up Professor Cai Dongzuan of the Department of Plant Pathology at National Chung Hsing University, their words are full of admiration and gratitude, every sentence sincere, as if they were describing a living bodhisattva who hears cries and saves the suffering.

Some call Cai Dongzuan a "plant disease miracle doctor" and "savior of farmers." The "Cai No. 18 microbe" he developed, with one bottle in hand, can promote rooting, suppress insects, speed up ripening, and enhance flavor, and has long been a famous wonder tool in agricultural circles.

Is it really that miraculous? Seeing Cai Dongzuan in person, his demeanor is indeed different from that of an ordinary scholar. He keeps a short beard on his chin, always holds a pipe in his hand, and has a leisurely manner, speaking slowly and softly, like the smoke he slowly puffs from his mouth. Behind his office seat hangs a calligraphy of the Heart Sutra, several swords, a gourd, and many Buddha statues and prayer beads. Were it not for the eye-catching wooden plaque reading "National Top Ten Outstanding Agricultural Experts," it would really have a bit of the flavor of a traditional Chinese martial arts medicine hall.