What is "sankhara"

( Pali; Sanskrit ) is a term figuring prominently in Buddhism. The word means 'that which has been put together' and 'that which puts together'.

In the first (passive) sense, refers to conditioned phenomena generally but specifically to all mental "dispositions". These are called 'volitional formations' both because they are formed as a result of volition and because they are causes for the arising of future volitional actions. English translations for in the first sense of the word include 'conditioned things,' 'determinations,' 'fabrications' and 'formations' (or, particularly when referring to mental processes, 'volitional formations').

In the second (active) sense of the word, refers to karma ( sankhara-khandha) that leads to conditioned arising, dependent origination.See, for instance, Bodhi (2000), p. 45:

is derived from the prefix (=con), "together," and the verb karoti, "to make." The noun straddles both sides of the active-passive divide. Thus are both things which put together, construct and compound other things, and the things that are put together, constructed, and compounded.