Why did he address only Venerable Śāriputra and none of the other disciples? It is because [Śāriputra’s] deep wisdom was in accordance with the Tathāgata.

There are five explanations of why [the Tathāgata] did not address the bodhisattvas: 1) [he wanted] to make the disciples do what had to be done; 2) [he wanted] to make the disciples change their minds and strive for great enlightenment; 3) [he wanted] to protect the disciples from fears and trepidation; 4) he wanted to make the others [gathered there have] good intentions; and 5) he wanted all the disciples not to give rise to the thought of having completed their task.