Puṇyakṣetra

puṇyakṣetra (P. puññakkhetta; T. bsod nams kyi zhing; C. futian 福田). Translated as “field of merit”. It refers to a recipient (a “field”) of offerings or other wholesome actions from a benefactor. The benefactor who performs these virtuous actions gains positive merit for their efforts. Hence, the act of performing these virtuous actions is compared to “planting seeds of merit.”

Any of the following objects can serve as the "field of merit" for virtuous actions:

• the three jewels (the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha)
• bodhisattvas
• a guru
• one’s parents
• the sick
• the poor
• etc.

The Digital Dictionary of Buddhism states:

[The puṇyakṣetra is] the recipient of any gift or offering, who is likened to a field that is cultivated. The planting of seeds is a stock metaphor in Buddhist literature for performing actions (karma), all of which will necessarily have some result in the future.

The act of giving always bears positive karmic fruit or 'merit' 福, but the yield of merit is said to be greater or lesser depending on the worthiness of the recipient, just as seeds planted in fertile field will yield a more bountiful crop than the same seeds planted in a field with poor soil. The two richest fields of merit are the Buddha and the sangha: offerings and donations to them are said to produce the most merit for worshippers and donors. The reasoning behind this idea is that the Buddha and the monks who follow his teachings are the primary sources of merit, which they produce by the good deeds of maintaining moral precepts, practicing meditation, and developing wisdom. Lay followers who make donations of food, clothing, or shelter in support of those activities can gain a share of the merit accumulated by the monks (Skt. puṇya-kṣetra; dakṣinīya; Tib. bsod nams kyi zhing; Tib. sbyin gnas, yon gyi gnas). [Charles Muller, Griffith Foulk]

The Dazhidu lun states:

The reputation of the honest and generous man spreads: among the people well-disposed in the ten directions, there is no one who does not love him; in the great assembly, he is without fear; at the moment of death, he has no fear. This man says to himself: ‘I have planted my wealth in the good fields of merit (puṇyakṣetra); I will certainly cross through the gate of human happiness, of heavenly happiness and the happiness of nirvāṇa’. [...].

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion (Vol IV) states:

When rice seeds are sown in a fertile field, a munificent crop will result. Similarly, the Saṅgha, with the Buddha as its head, is the supreme field where we can grow a bountiful crop of virtue. This comes through making offerings and venerating them with a joyful, appreciative, and humble attitude.

See also

• tshogs zhing (Skt. saṃbhāra-kṣetra; "field of accumulation")

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Dalai Lama; Thubten Chodron (2019), Following in the Buddha's Footsteps, The Library of Wisdom and Compassion, Volume 4, Wisdom Publications