Today’s NotebookLM report, The Indestructible Vow: The Diamond Chalice Precept (Kongō-hōki-kai), contains a brief reference to “The Blue Fly and Swift Horse.”

This is a metaphor found in Nichiren’s Rissho Ankoku Ron, his famous Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma. I had read the metaphor several times but didn’t understand it personally until I considered it in the context of the Diamond Chalice Precept.

In Rissho Ankoku Ron, Nichiren uses the metaphor to explain why a lowly priest of no standing can dare to challenge status quo. He is a blue fly riding the powerful Lotus Sutra.

However, in the context of Diamond Chalice Precept, it takes on a different meaning. Today’s article explains that the fly’s success is not due to its own good causes, but to the “effect” of clinging to the horse. The article associates the horse with the Gohonzon, but for me the Lotus Sutra is the horse.

When you realize that the horse is the Lotus Sutra, then you understand why chanting Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo is so powerful. An individual’s wealth, education or status are irrelevant. Anyone who clings to the Lotus Sutra can reach the ultimate destination, Enlightenment. That’s the power of Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.