[From a teaching on Songs of Barway Dorje by Bardor Tulku Rinpoche. Translator Lama Yeshe Gyamtso.]
Question: Concerning the recognition of the nature of mind, how can you find something when you don’t know what you’re looking for? If I’m looking for a pencil I know what it looks like, so I recognize it when I see it.
Rinpoche’s answer: The thought, “How could I know whether I find the nature of my mind or not, since I’ve never seen it?” is symptomatic of the veil that prevents us from seeing it. In fact the very thought, “I’ve never seen the nature of my mind” is a type of veil in and of itself, because the nature of mind is always there with us. To purify that veil, the veil of thinking, “I’ve never seen it and therefore I can’t see it” may require the extensive accumulation of merit and conscious acts and practices of purification. But in any case, once that veil is removed you will know when you see it with far greater certainty than your recognition of a pencil when you find it. It’s called the meeting of mother and child clear light. It’s like a child leaping into the lap of his or her mother.
