Karma

Karma [Skt.] (Tib. lé; las) literally means 'action' but it also refers to the process of cause and effect whereby positive actions result in happiness and negative, harmful actions lead to suffering. The real message of the teachings on karma is responsibility.

Sogyal Rinpoche says:

"Karma, then, is not fatalistic or predetermined. Karma means our ability to create and to change. It is creative because we can determine how and why we act. We can change."

--The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, p. 99