Twelve branches of the excellent teaching

Twelve branches of the excellent teaching (Wyl. gsung rab yan lag bcu gnyis) —

1. sutras (Wyl. mdo)
2. poetic summaries (Skt. geya, Wyl. dbyangs bsnyad)
3. prophecies (Skt. vyakarana, Wyl. lung bstan)
4. discourses in verse (Skt. gatha, Wyl. tshigs bcad)
5. intentional statements (Skt. udana, Wyl. ched du brjod pa)
6. contextual accounts (Skt. nidana, Wyl. gleng gzhi)
7. testimonies of realization (Skt. avadana, Wyl. rtogs brjod)
8. historical explanations (Skt. itivrttaka, Wyl. de ltar byung ba)
9. accounts of former lives (Skt. jataka, Wyl. skyes rabs)
10. detailed explanations (Skt. vaipulya, Wyl. shin tu rgyas pa)
11. wondrous discourses (Skt. abidhutadharma, Wyl. rmad du byung ba)
12. definitive explanations (Skt. upadesha, Wyl. gtan la phab)

These are said to be the twelve text categories within the Tripitaka, and include all the teachings of the Buddha.