For the Vimalakirti Sutra recitation sessions we would open each session with the following prayers.

Refuge
May the Buddha, Dharma and the Noble Sangha
Be the refuge till we reach enlightenment
By the merit made from giving and the others
May the Buddha’s state be reached for beings’ sake

Four Immeasurables
May all beings be happy and have the cause of happiness;
May they be free of suffering and the cause of suffering;
May they never be parted from happiness without suffering;
May they dwell in equanimity without attachment to those near and far.

Four Dharmas of Gampopa
Bless us so our minds may turn towards the Dharma.
Bless us so our Dharma may become the path.
Bless us so our path may clear away confusion
Bless us so confusion dawns as wakefulness.

Bodhisattva resolve from Bodhicaryavatara
Just as all the Buddhas of the past
Have brought forth the awakened mind,
And in the precepts of the Bodhisattvas
Step-by-step abode and trained,
Likewise, for the benefit of beings,
I will bring to birth the awakened mind,
And in those precepts, step-by-step,
I will abide and train myself.

Invitation to Sutra Reading
Whoever became a disciple of a sugata
Anywhere in the thousands of worlds in the ten directions,
Here today, at this shower of the Buddha’s Dharma,
All those who wish to listen are welcome here.
In the languages of Devas, Nagas, Yaksas and Gandharvas;
Human languages, and All the sounds of living beings,
I shall teach this Dharma in every language.