Hoonko　報恩講 Literally, a meeting to repay the indebtedness. For Jodo Shinshu, this has come to mean the observance held in commemoration of Shinran’s passing which falls on the sixteenth of January by the solar calendar or the twenty-eighth of the eleventh month by the lunar calendar. This observance is to express gratitude for Amida Buddha’s benevolence, and for Shinran’s great effort in spreading the teaching of Amida’s Primal Vow. The liturgy for the observance was established by Kakunyo (1270-1351), the third monshu, who wrote Hōonkō-shiki in 1294 which explains the significance of Hoonko.