Line by Line - Verse 22, Line 6

he whose (desires) are many goes astray.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Have much and be confused.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Have much and be confused
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

The more you acquire, the less you can really see.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Remember the old adage, "Can't see the forest for the trees?" That is a paraphrase of this line of the TTC.

When any of us find ourselves in dire circumstances, what is the first and most important thing to do? We to try to clear our minds. We try to remove the mounds of hubris that typically clog our brains so that we can give full attention to the matter at hand. We do this because only CLEAR THINKING provides the best opportunity for us to save ourselves.

It is another way of stating that a filled cup or bowl cannot be added to. Try to pour more in and it simply overflows. It also muddles what is already there.

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