The Natural Kamma.

The word  kamma  means literally action or deed, but in the Buddha’s teaching it refers  exclusively to volitional action. From a technical standpoint, kamma denotes wholesome or unwholesome volition (cetanà), volition being the factor responsible for action. Thus the Buddha declares: “It is volition, monks, that I call kamma, for having willed, one performs an action through body, speech or mind.” All volitional action, except that of a Buddha or an arahant, constitutes kamma. As mentioned in the last  chapter,  although volition arises and passes away  together with its citta, the kammic potential created by  it does not dissipate until it has given its appropriate  effect or becomes defunct. Buddhas and arahants are bound to experience the ripening of their past  kamma as long as their psycho-physical personalities persist, that is, until they  pass away. The law of kamma (kammaniyàma) is self-subsistent in its operation, ensuring that willed deeds produce their effects in accordance with their ethical quality just as surely as seeds bear fruit in accordance with their species. The direct products of kamma are the resultant cittas that arise when kamma finds the right conditions to bear fruits.