It appears that in the early period the dharma-bhāṇaka [great master of expounding the dharma] occupied only a low position. Early Buddhism already taught five of Mahayana’s six perfections (pāramitās); forbearance alone was Mahayana’s addition, appearing in the early period with an important meaning. In “A Teacher of the Law,” forbearance is one of the three rules of the preacher (donning the robe of the Tathāgata). The various Mahayana scriptures, including the Lotus Sutra, speak of the good and evil of following or not following the guidance of the preacher, and stress that the preacher is to be respected and not slighted. This no doubt reflects the reality of the times, that the Mahayana preacher was held in contempt and persecuted by society as a whole. The Lotus Sutra, having dealt with philosophical issues in the chapters before “A Teacher of the Law,” after that chapter turns its attention to practical problems, encouraging the mission of the dharma-bhāṇaka and, in later chapters, emphasizing the virtues of forbearance and endurance. We should understand this to be a reflection of the position and circumstances of the Mahayana preacher at the time when the sutra was being composed.