Zenyatta belonged to the Shambali, an order of omnic monks that had settled in a monastery deep within the Himalayas in northern Nepal, after experiencing a spiritual awakening that led them to believe that, like humans, omnics also possessed a soul. Their leader, Tekhartha Mondatta, sought to heal the breach between humans and omnics and bring them into societal harmony through the spreading of their peaceful message in public rallies (one of which resulted in Mondatta's assassination by Widowmaker in London). Zenyatta disagreed with this approach, believing that only directly engaging humans and connecting with them person-to-person will bridge the divide between man and machine. He left the Shambali monastery and wandered the world, seeking to help those he meets find inner peace (such as his encounter with the cyborg warrior Genji). He made Genji, a cyborg, more relaxed and made him understand the purpose of his metallic body.