The Buddha, when he permitted women to be ordained, gave eight extra rules especially for women in addition to the already established rules. These rules were concerned with the social behavior and the safety of the ordained women. It is highly debated why the Buddha did this but one reason was probably to establish a social form for the Sangha to operate under. Many see this as a reason for considering bhikkunis to have been lower in the social order than bhikkus.

However, in the Shilla Period, men and women were equal and the same was true of the members of the Sangha. Queen Sondok belonged to the hallowed-bone group, the highest rank in the society. Even though a man from true-bone rank, who was actually lower in the social system could be chosen to be king, Queen Sondok was anointed. Therefore at that time, women had the right of succession in the family lineage and they probably had the same rights in the inheritance of property also. The fact that Queen Sondok became a bhikkuni raised the status of ordained women and, therefore they were probably considered to be on the same level as men.

During the late Shilla Period, the 50th king, Chonggang (r. 886-887) abdicated the throne in favor of his sister, Queen Chinsong (r. 887-897), saying, "My sister is bright and her body is like that of a man. You, the people, should follow the example of queens Sondok and Chindok."