"Lords" in Buddhism

Buddhists tend to emphasize how Gautama Buddha did not talk about worshipping a single "lord' or divine being, and yet many scriptures in English refer to Buddha as "Lord", and have even suggested that Dharma itself is a kind of lord over all things. This is not the same as looking up to a creator God, and I think it's important to understand the distinction between seeing a being a creator, and seeing a being as a supreme teacher or 'protector' of Dharma. Whereas the first emphasizes one's debt to the creator of all things, the second suggests that it's the wisdom of Buddha and Dharma that are of the highest importance. Even "Dharma" translates more to the principles of karma, cause/condition and the Path of cessation, rather than referring to a single, omnipotent creator.
Some suggest that this semantic distinction still might leave the door open for people to look up to the Buddha as an all-powerful being, much as we would a lord of creation. But this is more to say that we are tapping into a collectively shared wisdom that is part of our awareness as beings, not separate from a creator who is distant or hanging over the universe. This also changes perspective because it doesn't create this impasse between oneself and the creator; instead, there is a belief that we are participating in a creation that is shared and mutually unfolding. The Lord refers to the universal wisdom that allows us to see and participate wholesomly in the creative process.