#mastodharma
it's significant, per Thay in his book "Opening the Heart of the Cosmos," that Buddha speaks first to Shariputra:

"The chapter begins as Shakyamuni Buddha emerges from his samadhi and says to Shariputra, “The wisdom of the Buddha is profound and incalculable. Shravakas or pratyekabuddhas cannot achieve this wisdom.” This is a very important detail. The Buddha has just come out of a deep state of meditative concentration and is about to begin delivering this most important Mahayana sutra. Whom does he choose to address at this moment? Not one of the great bodhisattvas, such as Manjushri or Maitreya, but his loyal disciple, the bhikshu Shariputra.

In the Vimalakirtinirdesha Sutra, Shariputra is held in low regard and made an object of denigration. He represents all the shortcomings of the Hinayana tradition. But now, in the Lotus Sutra, he is the object of the Buddha’s care and love. In this sutra, Shariputra represents the fourfold community of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen to whom the Buddha will transmit the teachings for future generations. Right away we can see how the Lotus Sutra aims to reconcile the two traditions."

which I think is very lovely. Shariputra is somebody understood to be a stand in for Hinayana more broadly, but he is treated as someone who is worth bringing in to the fold rather than as someone foolish and haughty, which is what Thay says is how the Vimalakirti Sutra treats him. the wisdom of the elders and the elders who ensured the transmission of the dharma is given immense respect by the Lotus Sutra.