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Japanese kanji/calligraphy/poem?

asaiko

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Anybody?
I can't read kanji very well atm so I can't provide my own translation. Sorry.
But this picture is from a banner so I'm assuming it's some kind of quote/poem?

Thank you
 
That's a proverb originated from a Buddhist scripture.

外面如菩薩内心如夜叉
Gemen nyo bosatsu naishin nyo yasha / Gemen wa bosatsu no gotoku, naishin wa yasha no gotoshi.
Woman looks like a bodhisattva, but her heart is like a yakshini.
Woman is an angel without, a fiend within.
Woman has a fair face, but a foul heart.
 
Interesting... thank you so much!!!
 
After some more research/Googling (thanks to Toritoribe's transcription of the characters) - I found some other translation of it...
"Saint in appearance, dreadful beast in heart.
(Meaning: Wolf in sheep's clothing.)
(Jp: Gemen nyo basatsu, naishin nyo yasha.
外面如菩薩、内心如夜叉。)"

Is that pretty accurate? Or does it specifically say "woman"?
 
There is no mention of "woman" in the proverb, so it's not wrong to apply it to other things than women. However, the original epigram is used as an example that women are detrimental to practice asceticism in the Avataṃsaka Sutra, so it's usually used to explain about women.
 
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