The self is the lord of the self; who else could be the lord? With a well-disciplined self, one finds a lord difficult to find.

Attā hi attano nātho — the self is the lord of the self: nātha is lord, protector, refuge. This is one of the most philosophically dense verses in the Dhammapada. Each person is their own refuge, their own lord. There is no external god or savior who can do the work of self-development.

Ko hi nātho paro siyā — who else could be the lord?: the rhetorical question is a declaration of radical spiritual autonomy. No one can meditate for you, no one can purify your mind for you, no one can comprehend truth in your place.

Attanā hi sudantena nāthaṃ labhati dullabhaṃ — with a well-disciplined self, one finds a lord difficult to find: the “lord difficult to find” is one’s own disciplined self. The paradox is that the refuge we seek everywhere is only found through work on oneself.

In the Buddha’s last words: attadīpā viharatha, attasaraṇā — “be lamps unto yourselves, be your own refuge.” This verse of the Dhammapada contains the same teaching in condensed form.