Explaining the psychology of Bodhisattva practice, imagery, and imagination, Bodhisattva Archetypes identifies a number of archetypal figures - beings dedicated to the universal awakening or enlightenment of everyone.

With entertaining folklore of the Bodhisattva tradition - and numerous depictions of its iconography and sacred sites - Taigen Daniel Leighton introduces readers to recognizable Bodhisattva archetypes like Maitreya the future Buddha or Avalokiteshvara (often depicted as Guanyin, the Chinese "Goddess of Mercy"), as well as contemporary figures who exemplify Bodhisattva ideals, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Henry David Thoreau.