About Ananda

Ananda is a shared folder within Red Cedar Zen Community's no-cost Google Drive account, used for storing, organizing and sharing online documents. It was named after Ananda, a primary attendant of the Buddha, who stood out among Buddha's disciples for having an exceptional memory, able to remember Buddha's every word and recall them verbatim later.

How to Access Ananda

Access to Ananda is available exclusively to sangha members. (For more about membership, see Become a Member). In order to access Ananda, members must have a Google account and must request access by contacting the Technology Committee at tech@redcedarzen.org.  Another way to request access is to click on a link to any resource that is located on Ananda (these links sometimes appear in our newsletter). If a resource is located on Ananda and you don't yet have access, you will  be prompted with an opportunity to “Request Access”.

After you have been granted access to Ananda, there are at least two ways to access it.

Method 1: Search for Ananda in Google Drive

1. Go to https://drive.google.com (you must have a Google account). 

2. From there, you can either: 

   • Search for “Ananda” in the search box near the top, or

   • Go to the “Shared with Me” option on the center left which will open all of the Google Docs and folders that have been shared with you. The Ananda folder should be listed, as well as any of the “private” folders you have access to.  Double click any folder to open that folder. 

Method 2: Go directly to Ananda

There are at least two ways to access Ananda directly:

1. Way A:  Use this link - Ananda  (then bookmark or favorite it in your browser so you can easily find it later) 

2. Way B:  Type this address into your browser’s address bar:  redcedarzen.org/toAnanda 

The open Ananda folder will look something like this:

Where to Find Things on Ananda

Ananda contains a large collection of folders. Folders are organized by sangha committee or workgroup, or by content. Examples of frequently access resources include: 

• Building - documents related to the new building at 2509 Cedarwood. 
  

• RCZC Board - documents related to the board. Many of the documents are organized into subfolders such as: 

• • Legal - Articles of incorporation, bylaws, etc. 

  • Meeting minutes - The approved minutes from all board meetings from 2008 to present.  

  • Guiding Teacher - documents such as the Guiding Teacher Job Description, East-West Operations Manual, and East-West Meeting agenda + notes.   

• RCZC Finance Committee - financial documents, many of which are in a subfolder: 

• • Financial Reports - A variety of financial reports, updated monthly by the bookkeeper. 

• Ritual + Form - chant books, doanryo service directions, zendo roles, and much more.
  

Permissions on Ananda

On Ananda, “permission” levels vary, depending on the person’s need: 

1. Viewer - has “read only” access to a document or folder   

2. Commenter - can view and comment on documents within a folder, but cannot edit them directly 

3. Contributor - can edit documents and create new ones within a folder 

4. Content Manager - same as Contributor, but can also move and delete documents. 

Sangha members who request access to Ananda are typically granted access as “Viewer”.  This means they can view all folders and subfolders within Ananda, and can read any documents in those folders and subfolders. Sangha members who volunteer for committees or  working groups may need a higher level of access to particular folders and subfolders. These will be granted on an individual basis.

For more Information

Additional help on how to use Ananda is located in the root folder of Ananda, in a document named "About Ananda - Start here".