As to the status of bhikkhunis, most Theravada bhikkhus don't recognize them as "legal", so they really don't have any status to speak of - they are illegitimate, in the eyes of the sangha government. I don't know of any Theravada countries where Bhikkhunis are given any legitimacy by the sangha as a whole. What you may be referring to is the fact that most Buddhist countries have inherited India's gender discrimination, but that doesn't really have anything to do with Buddhist doctrine.
In places like America, where there is of course much more individual freedom of religious expression, the Bhikkhunis are often regarded quite highly by society, I think.
@phalanyani might be able to shed some light on that if she ever comes on this forum
In fact, I think it fair to say that Buddhists in general (save those in power or
robes) tend to regard bhikkhunis quite well.
As to how individual sanghas treat Bhikkhunis, I can only speak of my own "sangha" (three of us: me, myself and I) when I say they are treated as monastics and meditators, with the same status and responsibilities as the bhikkhus:
study, practice, teach.
As to the codified status of bhikkhunis, there is something more to be said, of course. The sangha was originally set up to handle male renunciants - the very idea of women going forth was an absurdity before the Buddha came around; the Jain's believed that women were incapable of enlightenment, and Hinduism considered them inferior, unclean, etc.
The Buddha had no such views, but was very clear on the dangers of cross-gender interaction, in terms of sexual attraction and household-based behaviour. So, he made very explicit that the
ordination of women would create complications and should be treated with great caution.
The question is, as you ask, why was his answer to place the burden on the women, rather than giving the men more rules as well? There are many potential answers to this question, some better than others:
- the Buddha may have been acting in response to the request - if you want x, you have to do y. Since the women were asking for ordination, the Buddha put the burden on them to be careful not to disrupt the existing organization or become a burden on the administration. There are a few gender/sexuality based rules that might fall into this category, and the one limiting the number of ordinations could be to ensure quality didn't become a victim to quantity.
- the Buddha seems to have been sensitive to the special status and needs of women - the rule against living alone in the forest (to guard against rape), the rule requiring two years of celibacy before ordaining (to guard against potential pregnancy), etc.
- Some of the rules for Bhikkhunis, like some of the rules for Bhikkhus, may have just been laid down because it happened to be the Bhikkhunis who broke them. It seems some of the rules given to Bhikkhunis should equally be observed by Bhikkhus; some are anyway. It should be remembered that the rules were by no means meant to be exhaustive; they were laid down as problems arose; in the end, the Buddha said simply that whatever goes with the rules should come under the rules, and whatever does not, should not - otherwise there might be millions of rules for each sangha today.
- The most difficult rule for women, I think, is the one that requires Bhikkhunis to pay respect to Bhikkkhus. This seems to be due to a lack of familiarity with sangha practice; we are all required to pay respect to someone - there are strict rules regarding respect for seniority, regardless of the virtues of the person being respected; it isn't a sign that one is lesser than the one being respected, it is a means of keeping order and harmony. So, the two choices were to have Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis pay respect solely by individual seniority, or to keep the groups separate and require all Bhikkhunis to pay respect to all Bhikkhus as junior group to senior group. The Buddha chose the latter, and I can only think it out of desire to keep the groups separate. I wouldn't personally have any problem paying formal respect to a bhikkhuni, but I would rather in that case that they all be put in a higher group, because I agree with the dangers of unregulated cross-gender interaction.
Of course, much of the argument for keeping the genders separate breaks down in modern society; it is always refreshing to see how little importance is placed on gender by Western societies. I think that is a good thing, and does make the rules seem a bit antiquated - these days it seems repressed homosexuality may even be more of an issue for the sangha than heterosexuality or gender-specific role-playing.
What has to be realized, and can often only be realized upon entering into the monastic life for oneself, is that they are only rules. When the Buddha set down the eight "heavy" rules as a requirement for his step-mother's ordination (the first Bhikkhuni ordination), her response was:
“seyyathāpi, bhante ānanda, itthī vā puriso vā daharo, yuvā, maṇḍanakajātiko sīsaṁnahāto uppalamālaṁ vā vassikamālaṁ vā atimuttakamālaṁ vā labhitvā ubhohi hatthehi paṭiggahetvā uttamaṅge sirasmiṁ patiṭṭhāpeyya; evameva kho ahaṁ, bhante, ānanda ime aṭṭha garudhamme paṭiggaṇhāmi yāvajīvaṁ anatikkamanīye”ti.
"Just as, Bhante Ananda, a woman or man, young, youthful, fond of adornment, washing their head, having received a water-lily-garland, a rain-flower-garland, or a rose-flower-garland, taking it with both hands would place it reverentially on the crown of their head; indeed, just so, Bhante Ananda, I receive with reverence these eight heavy rules, not to be transgressed for as long as life shall last.
-- Cv. 10
I think most monks would agree with her sentiment; rules are not a burden, they are a privilege that we take on. There are even some rules that monks take on themselves, as though the hundreds of rules they are required to keep are not enough.
Finally, it's clear that the Buddha placed little emphasis on the rules; at one point he stated that a dispute over the vinaya would be insignificant in comparison to a dispute over the dhamma; in one sutta in the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha says that if the rules seem to be too great a burden, one should keep in mind only the three trainings of morality, concentration and wisdom in terms of one's meditation practice; if one does that, any minor infractions committed are to be overlooked.
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