According to the Mahāparinibbāna-suttanta (Dīgha-Nikāya, XVI) the Buddha instructed his disciples that after his death they should be their own refuge and should depend upon the Dharma:

“Ānanda! I am reaching my end. After my death, may all of you be an island to yourselves, a refuge to yourselves, and take refuge in no other. Make the Dhamma your island, make the Dhamma your refuge, and take refuge in none other. By so doing, Ānanda, you will set yourselves on the summit.”
(Dīgha-Nikāya, ii, 100)

The universalization of the Dharma and its authority within the Saṃgha are closely connected with a passage at the end of the Mahāparinibbāna-suttanta. The Buddha has given his final discourse to the wandering ascetic Subhadda at Kusināra, and then speaks to Ānanda:

“Some of you may think, ‘The words of the Master have ended; we no longer have a Master.’ You should not see things in that way. The Dhamma I gave expounded and the Vinaya that I have established will be your Master after my death.”
(Dīgha-Nikāya, ii, 154)