Before the Buddha passed into nirvana, Ananda asked him whom the sangha should rely on in the future, and the Buddha replied unequivocally that "after my nirvana, the dharma-vinaya (pratimok.sa) which I have taught is going to be your master." This, however, is only a declaration on the importance of having a regulating system (the rule of law) so that the disciples could avoid falling prey to the myth of rule by man.
The Buddha's teachings centred originally around the idea of "selflessness due to dependent arising" and it was impossible that the sangha which was founded based on the realization of dependently arising phenomena should produce some popelike highest authority. Since everybody is dependant on the support offered by others, everyone is equal. The Buddha gave the example himself by clearly stating that "the Tathagata does not say 'I am controlling the sangha, I am in charge of the sangha aid："Go to refuge to yourself and go to refuge to the dharma, but don't go to any other refuge!"
Looking at it from the viewpoints of spirituality and teaching, there is absolutely no one who could take the Buddha's position among the monks. This role of spiritual leader, however, is founded on the master-disciple relationship and does not imply an absolute authority to control all sangha affairs. Thus the Buddha tried his whole life to substitute rule by man through rule of law so that everyone could rely on the standard of the pratimok.sa. He established a republican, pure, and peace which didn't need to worry about the danger of "order as long as the man is there, and chaos after he's perished."
Nevertheless, later generations of vinaya masters came to the conclusion that "there is nothing higher than the vinaya" which is not at all what the Buddha wanted to say. The Buddha's teaching centres around the "dharma". "Vinaya" thus is nothing but a standard established within the teaching of the true norm, a standard in accordance with the spirit of saddharma. The relationship between dharma and vinaya is like that between wheel and cart，or even that of the dharma being in the and the vinaya in the secondary one. Vinaya is just a method to maintain a life devoted to practicing the path. For the individual, the aim is to "cause pure conduct to be maintained long", while for the community the aim is to "let the true dharma remain for a long time in this world."
