Twelve branches of the excellent teaching

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

Sutras, poetic summaries and prophecies,

Discourses in verse, intentional statements, testimonies of realization,

Historical explanations, contextual accounts,

Detailed explanations, accounts of former lives,

Wondrous discourses and definitive explanations—

These are said to be the twelve branches.