The Twelve Scriptural Categories of Buddhism or the Twelve Divisions of the Buddhist Canon.

The Twelve Scriptural Categories

In The Supreme Essence: A Commentary on the Difficult Points of “The Noble 8,000 Verse Sutra on Far-Reaching Discrimination” (‘Phags-pa shes-rab-kyi pha-rol-tu phyin-pa brgyad-stong-pa’i dka’-‘grel snying-po mchog, Skt. Aryashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Panjika Sarottama), Ratnakarashanti (Shantipa) has said, “Expositions on themes of practice, melodic verses, revelatory accounts, metered verses, special verses, ethical narratives, illustrative accounts, ancient narratives, past life accounts, epic presentations, fabulous accounts, and decisive explications are the twelve scriptural categories.” What each of these twelve are and how they fit into The Three Baskets is as follows:

1. Expositions on themes of practice (mdo, Skt. sutra) – what Buddha has to say in a brief and condensed format
2. Melodic verses (dbyangs-kyis bsnyad-pa, Skt. geya) – verses that Buddha uttered during the course of and at the conclusion of his sutras
3. Revelatory accounts (lung-bstan-pa, Skt. vyakarana) – Buddha’s revelations of what has happened in the past or prophesies of what will occur in the future, such as the The Sutra of the White Lotus of the True Dharma (Dam-pa’i chos padma dkar-po’i mdo, Skt. Saddharma Pundarika Sutra; The Lotus Sutra). Another way of explaining melodic verses and revelatory accounts is that the former are scriptures of interpretable meaning and the latter of definitive meaning.
4. Metered verses (tshigs-su bcad-pa, Skt. gatha) – two-to-six-lined verses composed by Buddha
5. Special verses (ched-du brjod-pa, Skt. udana) – praises that Buddha uttered with joy for the sake of the long life of his teachings, and not for the sake of specific individuals
6. Ethical narratives (gleng-bzhi, Skt. nidana) – rules, codified by Buddha for those who are ordained, concerning which actions constitute a breach of their vows
7. Illustrative accounts (rtogs-par brjod-pa, Skt. avadana) – teachings of Buddha given with examples for ease of comprehension by the listener
8. Ancient narratives (de-lta-bu byung-ba, Skt. itivrttika) – stories Buddha told from ancient times
9. Past life accounts (skyes-pa’i rabs, Skt. jataka) – accounts of the difficult ascetic practices that Buddha performed in his previous lives while engaging in the conduct of the bodhisattvas. An example is The Sutra about the Arya Bodhisattva Arthasiddhi ('Phags-pa rgyal-bu don-grub-kyi mdo, Skt. Aryajinaputra Arthasiddhi Sutra).
10. Epic presentations (shin-tu rgyas-pa, Skt. vaipulya) – presentations of the vast and profound aspects of such topics as the six far-reaching attitudes (six perfections) and ten arya bodhisattva levels of mind (ten bhumis) of The Basket of the Mahayana or Bodhisattva Sutras.
11. Fabulous accounts (rmad-du byung-ba, Skt. adbhutadharma) – descriptions of such marvelous, wondrous things as the wisdom, extra-physical powers and saintly deeds of the Buddhas, pratyekabuddhas (self-realizers), and shravakas (listeners)
12. Decisive explications (gtan-la phab-pa, Skt. upadesha) – the precise meaning of the works in The Basket of Sutras by specifying the individual and general definitions of things.

Nichiren talks about the importance of the Twelve Divisions of the Buddhist Canon. "Those of wisdom" who perform shakubuku (the forceful practices) should be familiar with them (incorporating, of course, Namu Myoho renge kyo.