BEYOND MY WILDEST EXPECTATIONS – An interview by Julia Kataoka, Staff writer (World Tribune, July 3, 2009)
Philip Yi is a master sushi chef and owner of Sushi Central, a restaurant in Los Angeles. He recently won a cook-off on Throwdown! With Bobby Flay, a Food Network television program in which celebrity chef Bobby Flay challenges renowned chefs to cook-off of their specialty dish. Mr. Yi is also a former director and instructor of the California Sushi Academy. The World Tribune spoke with Mr. Yi about how his Buddhist practice has informed his actions in society.
WT: How did you encounter Nichiren Buddhism?
Philip Yi: It was after a late night of partying. Eight of us were sitting around, being obnoxious at a restaurant. There were a couple of ladies sitting right behind us, and after they finished eating, one of them threw an old card with Nam-myoho-renge-kyo printed on it on our table and left. They didn't say a word.
The card circulated around the table. I looked at it, and for whatever reason, I kept it. From that point on, I just kept running into people who practiced Nichiren Buddhism. It took me quite some time from that day to actually go to a meeting and start practicing.
WT: What made you finally start practicing?
Yi: Three years after that night at the restaurant, I moved to Los Angeles from Washington State. I was homeless and on drugs. Eventually, though, I stopped doing drugs and decided to attend my first meeting. I received the Gohonzon soon after.
When I wasn't looking for a job or working as a temp here and there, I was chanting. I also studied Buddhism, and I participated in as many SGI-USA activities as I could, because I really wanted to understand the practice.
And sure enough, my situation changed. I began to understand in the depths of my life that without adversities, I could not refine my character as a human being.
WT: Did you always want to be a sushi chef?
Yi: No. I had no idea. I did so many other things in my life. I kind of just ran into it.
I used to work at a store as a reflexologist. After a few months, the manager, who brought me on, got an opportunity to open a sushi academy, and he asked me to come on board.
I didn't know anything about sushi, so I started out as a school promoter and eventually became the director. It happened kind of backward. As the director, I started going into the classrooms and developed a passion for sushi.
WT: What did it mean for you to be selected for Throwdown! With Bobby Flay?
Yi: It was a turning point in my life. It happened last October, at a time when our restaurant hit rock bottom. We struggled just to keep our doors open and pay our employees. I was maxing out our credit cards and taking out loans. The restaurant would just be empty from morning until night.
However, my goal was never to lay off anybody in these tough economic times.
WT: What happened next?
Yi: I went back to the Gohonzon. My prayer was to achieve a victory that would exceed my wildest expectations and show undeniable proof of this practice. Then, just out of the blue, the Food Network called. They asked me to send in an audition tape, so I did.
WT: And you faced an obstacle getting on the show?
Yi: Right after I submitted the audition tape, I broke my wrist, which meant I couldn't make sushi, but I continued chanting.
The day I got my cast off, the network called again and asked me to send in another tape. A few weeks later, someone from the network called and said, "The producers loved you." We started filming soon after.
I never gave up or compromised: It was a great victory.
WT: How did the show affect your business?
Yi: Our business has picked up and is doing the best it has ever done, and I didn't have to lay anyone off. I feel this is the undeniable proof of this practice.
WT: How has your Buddhist practice influenced your view on success?
Yi: After many years of practice, I've come to realize that every moment is win or lose. Life is not just about having a great restaurant with lots of people, it's about having a high life-condition during times of despair, winning at each moment and not being defeated by setbacks or hardships.
WT: How has Buddhism informed your role in society?
Yi: Recently, I had the opportunity to be in a documentary, and I talked about how I've stopped serving toro and other sushi made from bluefin tuna, because bluefin tuna is fast approaching the endangered species list. I was happy that I could share my view.
I also try to educate customers when they ask why I don't serve these items. Many of them have told me that they have stopped eating bluefin tuna and toro.
I don't know what direction this industry will take, but as a chef, as a human being and as a Buddhist, I have to be conscientious about what I'm doing and how I'm affecting the environment.
WT: What would you like to accomplish in the future?
Yi: My challenge right now is to stabilize my business and then open another restaurant.
Whatever it is I do, I want to fulfill my mission, which, I believe, is to encourage people. On the days when I can't do SGI activities, because I'm working about 12 to 14 hours a day, my restaurant is my Buddha land where I take on my kosen-rufu activities. For my customers, for whomever walks in through that door, through my behavior as a human being, I want to be someone who inspires and gives hope to others.
I'm chanting to go beyond my wildest expectations.
