Pema Chodron talks about anger, and how being provoked by the
world helps us see our own blind spots, the places where we “get
hooked.” :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7qFi52FX1Q
A central theme of her teachings is the Tibetan word
shenpa, or how we get hooked. According to the Buddha,
there is a certain amount of pain that is inevitable in life, such
as growing old, sickness and being separated from someone we love
very intensely. But on top of that is the suffering, which the
Buddha explains how to get rid of. We will still die, get sick and
be separated from others, but we can work with the suffering by
stopping the momentum of shenpa.
"Somebody says a mean word to you and then something in you
tightens — that's the shenpa. Then it starts to spiral into low
self-esteem, or blaming them, or anger at them, denigrating
yourself. And maybe if you have strong addictions, you just go
right for your addiction to cover over the bad feeling that arose
when that person said that mean word to you. This is a mean word
that gets you, hooks you. Another mean word may not affect you but
we're talking about where it touches that sore place — that's a
shenpa. Someone criticizes you — they criticize your work, they
criticize your appearance, they criticize your child — and, shenpa:
almost co-arising."